Undercover Brother

The moment has finally come for Strokes fans, what do you call Strokes fans? “Strokers”? That sounds bad. Anyways, today marks the official release of the first single “Under Cover of Darkness”. Available for free download on their site for the next 48 hours or so, though I’d recommend just checking it out on Youtube, unless you want to sign up for a Strokes’ newsletter. To save you some time I’ll post this video of the new single right here, easy breezy beautiful.

As for the song itself, I like it. Bright and cheery like “Someday”, but still retaining some of the complexity of First Impressions of Earth, which could either be a good or bad sign. The interplay between guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. is definitely stands out, showcasing a kind of classic rock feel. Word on the street is that the new album Angles (Due out March 22) is supposed to be a return to the sounds of Is This It? Hard to say if The Strokes can ever capture that kind of lightning again, but this track is a good start.

How I Met All Women Who Aren’t Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother – “Oh, Honey”

One of the best features of How I Met Your Mother is how it plays with narrative structure. Since the story is told by Ted of the increasingly-less-distant future, episodes can have him misremember events and prevent stories non-linearly. I feel like the show has played with this element more than usual this season, resulting in some pretty strong episodes. “Oh, Honey” is certainly among those in that it was a quality episode, but I have to say I’m really disappointed by the direction the story turned last night.

OK, yes, it was pretty telegraphed that Zoey and Ted would try to have some kind of relationship. And since Future Ted calls her Zoey, and not Your Mother, we know that she is not the woman Ted is going to end up with. So, in a season that set itself up as the season we’d finally meet mother, we are instead going to be sidetracked at least the rest of the way this year. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, even if they were going to introduce mother, it would probably be in the season finale.

It’s just, well, they said the story is being told in 2030. And those kids look pretty old. I’d say the daughter is probably around 18. So she has to be born next year. Just because the show is called How I Met Your Mother doesn’t mean it has to end when Ted meets mother. I mean you can’t really make the argument that every single episode has built toward Ted meeting mother anymore, the show probably should have been called How Every Relationship I’ve Had in My Life Turned Out at this point.

But anyway, I guess the main attraction for “Oh, Honey” wasn’t even the Ted/Zoey story, but Katy Perry. She’s the eponymous Honey, a sexual interest of Barney’s that results in a funny breakdown over the phrase “who’s your daddy.” Katy Perry did fine with the material she had and I guess we shouldn’t be surprised someone like her popped up on the show, after all Britney Spears was on for a few episodes not so long ago.

But the biggest laughs came from Marshall and his family. Marshall’s still in Minnesota since his father died, although Lily’s gone back to NY, presumably because she still has a job as a teacher, although I can’t remember the last time we saw that. And Robin’s in the episode too, sitting around doing nothing. But I digress, as Marshall’s “Ted, that son of a bitch” was definitely the biggest laugh of the night for me. I also enjoyed his brother, listening in on the call and offering a poetic analysis of the Ted/Zoey situation, that immediately segueing into childish jokes.

So, yeah, a good episode. It will be interesting to see where HIMYM goes from here. Bummer that The Captain probably won’t be a part of that future.

C.A.T.: Giant Steps

John Coltrane – Giant Steps (1960)

This’ll probably be the last jazz album I’ll do as we head into that wonderful decade of music that was the sixties. When I was first getting in to jazz in high school this was probably the album that really hooked me in like no other, and it’s still one of those few jazz albums that I find to be pretty much flawless song for song.

This wasn’t Coltrane’s first album as band leader, but it was the one that really established him as his own musical force after parting with Miles Davis’s band after taking part in 1959’s Kind Of Blue. You can really hear ‘Trane taking full stock in his “sheets of sound” style, while the rest of the band has no problem keeping up with his furious playing. Giant Steps also saw Coltrane breaking out as a composer, as it’s the first album in which he composed every track, and the melodic quality of the songs are about as good as any Coltrane I’ve heard.

I guess what I always loved about the album is the way it basically just goes for broke with each song. From the opening chords of the album’s title track, it’s pretty much nothing but really fast, really frantic playing, but the musicians on hand are more than game for it. And luckily the album slows down a bit for the more laid-back “Naima”, one of Coltrane’s more notable ballads.

Basically, if you want to figure out whether you like jazz or not, I’d probably say this would be as good as any album to try on for size. It’s also an example of how Coltrane didn’t really subscribe to the idea that jazz was about “the notes you don’t play”, as he always seemed bent on putting every little idea he could into each one of his solos.

Favorite Tracks: “Giant Steps”, “Naima”, “Mr. P. C.”

Easy Like Sunday Morning

I missed the chance last year, but the year before that I did a fairly extensive Super Bowl recap here on the DaMorgue. I’m not going to do that, but I see no harm in expressing a few thoughts regarding this annual sports phenomenon that is the Superbowl.

First off I guess, there’s the teams the Steelers and the Packers. Nothing really that compelling about that matchup, just two good teams. Naturally I leaned towards the Packers, I mean the Steelers have enough Superbowl titles and does anybody really like Big Bad Ben Roethlisberger? Whatever, I didn’t care much about the outcome, all I ever ask for is that it’s a good game and it was fine. My favorite part was that terrible Steelers missed field goal from like 53 yards away, ha, ha, I bet that guy was pretty bummed.

Suppose I’ll address that halftime show next. First one to feature a modern group since nipplegate so I expected it to suck. So it did suck, I mean shouldn’t real music come from ya know, people that are good musicians? I feel like the Black Eyed Peas might as well of been doing karaoke. It doesn’t help that none of them are really that talented of singers, or anything for that matter. They didn’t even have enough of their own songs to fill up the performance (insert Slash) for a subpar tribute to GnR.

What I was surprised to hear is that almost EVERYONE agreed this year’s halftime show really sucked, feels good to be a part of that consensus. I understand halftime organizers were tired of using comatose rock geezers for their show, but at least those comatose rock geezers know how to sing and usually have good songs, something to keep in mind for next year.

Commercials… Another popular aspect of Superbowl mania, but one that rarely catches my interest. I mean I usually like the new movie trailers, definitely excited to get a look at Captain America (Which appears to be utilizing a little Benjamin Button technology) but most of the commercials just seem to try too hard. Cramming in superstars like Justin Bieber and Kenny G. can only take you so far, can’t think of a single standout commercial. Definitely a lot of violent slapstick stuff, meaning lots of ads where people get hurt in the head and or nuts. I was surprised to see a lack of off-the-wall beer commercials, those guys usually bring their A-game but I don’t know, maybe they were all drunk or something.

Despite all my cantankerous bickering I like watching the Superbowl. It’s a great opportunity to just to kick back with some salty snacks and watch some good ol’ football. Basically it’s just an excuse to hang out, be lazy and in the words of Spicoli “Hey bud, let’s party!”

Watch It on Your Thing Carlos Thought Of

30 Rock – “¡Qué Sorpresa!”

Is it weird that comedy TV has turned me into a Brian Williams fan? Every time B Dubs shows up on The Daily Show or 30 Rock, he makes me laugh. I know very little of his actual work. This week he showed up as a gossip once again, but what really got me was at the very end of the episode, with he pitch about some sort of lizard men TV show, starring him. That a scene like that exists in the first place is exactly why I am such a fan of 30 Rock.

As usual, there are a lot of threads to follow, but the main one involves Jack enlisting Liz to go shopping with Avery. They get spotted by one of Avery’s coworkers, so Liz has to pretend she’s the pregnant one. Since no one in the office can be trusted, Liz has to perpetuate the story, going as far a having a demeaning pregnant lady photo shoot. This is all because Jack’s meeting with his new Kabletown boss and is worried about his future with NBC. Fortunately, with the help of the elderly Kenneth, Jack proves himself and regains job security. Also, Tracy and Jenna celebrate that they are friends now, then get into an argument over a sweater.

I wonder how long Elizabeth Banks will stick around? She was only in one scene this week, despite being a big deal movie star. It’s weird having a show were the two main characters are involved with celebrities that obviously can’t be on the show that often. But I guess Elizabeth Banks did stick around on Scrubs for a while, and this is the same channel and was the same time slot as Scrubs…

I liked this episode, but in the end not much of it was really too memorable for me. Liz’s photo shoot was pretty funny. Jack’s plot has a couple good moments. Maybe it’s because the show isn’t on until 10 and I’m just overloaded with TV comedy by the time I get to 30 Rock.

Long Live Zorp

Parks and Recreation – “Time Capsule”

Man I love me some Parks and Recreation. The show has one of the best ensembles of characters on TV right now and it handles them so well. While it’s been hard to say goodbye to Mark and it’s been a little weird that Leslie has been acting like she’s the boss, it all makes sense if you’re used to the characters. I think even the seemingly one-beat characters Chris and Ben are coming into their own in a fun way.

So the Parks Department, despite supposedly being in Harvest Festival mode, found time to put together a time capsule. They’re filling it with important objects, such as every motto the city has had, recited from memory by Leslie, when Kelly (Will Forte) shows up and demands a spot for Twilight inside. When it’s clear he won’t get his way, Kelly handcuffs himself in Leslie and Tom’s office. Tom, having broken up with Lucy, is seduced by the power of Twilight and soon Leslie is trapped in a hellish world of Twilight gossip. So she gives in to Kelly’s demands. This opens the floodgates for the rest of the town’s crazies, eventually leading to a hilarious meeting in which it becomes clear the town will need more than one capsule.

Meanwhile, Andy is still trying to win April over, and Chris decides to help him. This leads to Andy befriending Eduardo, which ruins that relationship for April. You know, I thought Eduardo was all right, it’s sad to see him go so soon, but I guess it’s good in the grand scheme of things, we don’t necessarily need a whole season of more unrequited love between Andy and April.

Yep, another great episode from a great show. In fact, Parks and Rec probably generated my biggest laugh of the night, when Ron talked about his favorite thing to order at his favorite restaurant: “The Four Horse-Meals of the Meat-Pork-Alypse.” Now we just need to get that stupid couples show out of the way.

Michael in the City

The Office – “The Search”

The thing that bothers me most about The Office is that I’ve rather enjoyed it these past few episodes. It’s not really the same show it was in the beginning, not nearly that good. But after a lengthly lackluster streak, I’ve been having a good time with what the show has done lately. Maybe that’s because there’s been a noticeable effort to push Jim and Pam to the side to focus on the funnier characters, namely Andy and Daryl. Whatever it is, it’s working, and I’m learning to accept the reality that we’ll have a version of the show soon without Michael.

Speaking of Michael, this episode sees him abandoned by Jim downtown. Without a wallet or cell phone, Michael quickly gives in to life on the streets, begging and stealing just to stay alive. The office dispatches Holly, Erin and Dwight to find their missing leader. This allowed for some good character development for the two women, as Erin finally begins to understand why Michael loves Holly so much and we get to see just how alike Holly and Michael are. Dwight’s just there to be silly. In the end, Holly finds Michael and the two kiss. Looks like we’ll be able to wrap up Michael’s story very neatly, I get the impression Steve Carell is not going to be coming back to this show.

Meanwhile, back at the actual office, a cartoon of Pam’s has sparked a caption contest, one that Gabe is not a fan of. Gabe, being a company man, can’t allow the rest of the office to make jokes at Sabre’s expense. So they start making really mean jokes about Gabe. I feel bad for Gabe, the show has gone out of its way to turn him into kind of a Toby, but for everyone in the office to hate instead of just Michael. This subplot wasn’t really doing it for me, but it was fine I guess. I would have preferred more of Michael being a moron in the city, though.

So, there you a go. Another solid episode from The Office. Of course nothing can top the amazing cold open with David Brent last weekend, but I don’t think that’s meant to be topped. I’m just happy that I can enjoy this show while it’s still on.