Holiday Road.... Top RT Audio for the Holiday Season

     I have been spending so much time in the car lately. It's easy for me to get tired of the radio. I've tried everything (but cassette tapes) to keep me sane behind the wheel. I've put together my top three songs and top 5 podcasts that have been helping me deal with holiday traffic.

SONGS:
     It's that cold time of year again. My current local temperature is about 22 degrees, which makes car travel less fun toff the bat. I need music to get me in the car. A good holiday song will make you forget you're in traffic. A great song will turn your boring commute into a party-like atmosphere , which is great when there is a bottleneck to view an accident on the other side of the highway.

3. Florida Georgia Line: Cruise
"I've got my windows down, and my radio up..."
This 2013 radio staple get me to roll down my windows and relax (if it is above 40 degrees out). I caught FGL in the summer of 2013 touring with Luke Bryan as this song was burning up the country, pop and hip hop charts. It was a near religious experience on a sweltering Labor Day weekend in Pennsylvania  as Tyler Hubbard (Georgia of the aforementioned Line) yelled out "Yeah Girl" to my "Let's cruise" sign. Something about the song on the radio takes me back to that concert and the memories of that weekend. Cruise and other songs about sipping beers, falling in love, dancing in fields, and other summer fun can be found on Here's to the Good Times.

2. Maren Morris: 80's Mercedes
"...Feel like a hard to get starlet when I'm driving...." 
I love listening to this song in the car. It reminds me of summertime, no traffic, and it's very catchy. Maren Morris has blown up the country scene this year, winning Bes New Artist at November's CMA Awards. Her mix of pop, soul and country make her Summer 2016 album Hero on repeat.

1. Tim McGraw: Shotgun Rider
"...No I don't ever want to know... no  other shotgun rider beside you, singing along to the radio."

(c) PipPepPop

PODCASTS:

     Everyone has a podcast these days. All you need are some good microphones, the gift of gab, and an iTunes account. All you need to listen are ears. I have been devouring the following podcasts in no particular order :

5. Shondaland Revealed
     TGIT fans can rejoice! ABC super EP Betsy Beers is back bi-weekly this season and  interviewing her beloved Shonda Thursdays actors. Stars of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal (premieres next month), The Catch (premieres March) and How to Get Away with Murder come to chat about their shows. I also believe this started as a Scandal podcast and expanded out to the other shows. In the news, I have to know who is under the sheet (dead) on HTGAM! I know Betsy will have that interview (and the actor's fashion report) soon. The podcast is on iTunes alternate Fridays with first looks on EW.com Thursday nights.

4.  Buffering the Vampire Slayer
     Real-life couple Kristin Russo and Jenny Owens Young have just completed a watch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's season 1. January is the perfect time to jump in on the emotionally crippling season 2. There's some important conversations to be had here about the dialog (mostly from Xander) and situations from the 90's (just yell "The Patriarchy") that are no longer politically correct.  There's also much amazing fashion to discuss (t-shirts under camis and dresses, velour everything, anyone?) Buffy fans new and old will enjoy this podcast. I loved the interview with Armin Shimerman (aka Principal Synder) and hope to hear more behind the scenes tidbits as Buffy turns 20 this spring. Each episode ends with an original composition the ladies have written  about the theme of the episode. I know the upcoming School Hard already lends itself to an easy chorus. The podcast drops on iTunes Wednesday nights/Thursday mornings. Visit the podcast website here.

3. Bitch Sesh- A Real Housewives Breakdown Show
     Hosts Casey Warner and Danielle Schneider are celebrating year on the airwaves with special guest, Bravo's King Andy Cohen. Both women come from comedy writing and acting backgrounds, and they launched the Hulu original mockumentaries "The Real Housewives of Orlando" and "The Real Housewives of Las Vegas." This podcast is all bravo, all the time. The episodes recap all of the Real Housewives franchises (mainstays Orange County, Beverly Hills, NY, NJ, Atlanta, and the less successful Dallas, DC, and Potomac forays.) The podcast is usually found Wednesdays! Catch the crew on iTunes here.

2. Gossip Guys
     Andy Greene and Aaron Davitian have steered the ship USS Gossip Girl for nearly three seasons, and only spoiled one major plotline. If you listed to the "Never Have I Ever" episode, you and Andy will find out who is Gossip Girl.  The L.A.-based pair always have something to say as two guys watching a post-Internet boom teen drama. They push through the party and scheme of the  week, coining phrases such as 'manipiate': a manipulation, usually involving Nate. I've found myself yelling "It's not enough," when they honor Blair's stepdad Cyrus, or "It's a small island," whenever a character unfathomably appears in the next scene after going from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Join the guys as we head into the (personal opinion) turbulent and off-putting season 4. Let's hope next season will end with a "Summer of Serena" movie binge of Blake Lively classics. Episodes usually release Mondays. Spot the guys on iTunes here.

1. The Shipping Room
     If you've ever rooted for a TV couple, this podcast is for you! From The Wonder Years to Chicago P.D. and everything in between (usually 902010 or One Tree Hill), Christine and Tamar fearlessly plunge into important TV relationship topics. Past episodes have been about affairs, pregnancies and engagements. The ladies share weekly listener "Tip 10 Ships" lists and talk with top T.V. writers. Episodes drop on Fridays. Check them out on iTunes.

I'm Loving Every Minute of It...

     I didn't realize until this weekend that I was in desperate need of some new music. In the midst of Christmas songs and country radio, I was yearning for a new sound. I found it yesterday. John Mayer world premiered his new song on Facebook live this weekend and as the lyrics say, "...I'm loving every minute of it..." The simplicity of Love on the Weekend is just that, it's about squeezing more time in with your main squeeze... on the weekend. That's it, just a sample love song. The song is the perfect mix of the ethereal beauty of  Heartbreak Warfare (2009- Battle Studies) and the breezy nonchalance of Wildfire (2013- Paradise Valley), I'm excited to see where Mayer's new sound will take us in 2017. 

Swept Away - TV's Missing It's Primetime

     November has long been known as one of the truly glorious months in television. Once upon a time, this month, along with February and season-ending May were the big months to watch. This tradition dates as far back as the 1950's where Nielsen numbers measured how many viewers watched a program. Data these days breaks it down even more by age, gender and other factors.  These months measured viewership and would eventually determined advertising rates for shows. The more popular a program, the more money they could get. This was long before the "big game" was raking in millions per commercial.

     In today's day and age, we could lose a favorite character at any turn, and long-absent guests are just as likely to pop up in September as they are midway into the season. While I'm still hopelessly behind on all of my shows, there have been a fair amount of times this month when nothing much is going on. Take Election day, Thanksgiving day and Black Friday, all three guaranteed weeknights this month to show repeats. What happens when we head to December?

Image from Giphy

   
     First, The "Winter Finales" will come. Much like the ghost of Christmas past, the WF will leave us on either a satisfying resolution for the year, or utter shock. The idea comes from British shows such as The Office or Downton Abbey, which often end the season with a Christmas themed episode. It's time for Christmas specials (not the special Yuletide-themed episodes like our favorite 90's shows, but events like "Michael Buble's Christmas" and "CMA Country Christmas."  Much to my surprise, Shonda Thursdays  are ending their first part of the season this week with what promises to be a grand,earth-shattering, Winter conclusion. This is a nice way of saying we won't see Grey's Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder or the not-looking-promising for renewal Notorious until Scandal comes a calling, which is about two months from now. There will be a full two months with nothing new from most of our favorite shows. What kind of present is that?

Stay tuned for a post on the best 90's themed Christmas episodes.

Rocky Horror-ish

Image from WiffleGif

     Six years ago, FOX took a chance on the Rocky Horror Picture Show (Subtitled Let's do The Time Warp Again) via an episode of GLEE. I gave it a fairly favorable review at the time (in my defense, the episode had John Stamos), but I could see where the story lacked definition and guts. After viewing the TV movie reboot from a few weeks ago, I still have same of the same qualms. In 2016, "RH" is not much of a shocker. I think that may be the overall problem with the musical. There's something so hokey about the 1975 version that is lost on today's audiences. We're  much more jaded, unlike innocent Brad and Janet. We're not at all shocked when Dr. Frank-N-Furter  (Laverne Cox) stabs beloved rocker Eddie (Adam Lambert) and pushed him out an open window. When Janet (Victoria Justice) begs perfect man specimen Rocky to "Touch-a touch-a touch me" in her skirt slip and bra, she's covered more than Britney Spears on stage in Las Vegas.

Image from Nerdist

     For good measure, the "Time warp" dance was good, but it looked tame compared to 90 percent of the stage performances at the 2016 MTV VMAs. We don't even bat an eye over songs like "Sweet Transvestite." In short, it was a decent production, but nothing really special  because the first "RH" broke the mold. It's too campy to be taken seriously as a  new movie. The beauty of a live performance of Rocky is the audience interaction, which took on a life of it's own. The team attempted to represent this by showing extras in a movie theater watching the scenes from time to time and reacting as an audience at a live show would. For someone not familiar with the musical, it would come off as confusing and odd that they were cutting to people throwing popcorn at a marriage proposal between the Doc and Rocky. I also think they strangely left out a lot of the parts in songs where the audience yells out things to the cast. They could have put these notes on the screen, like the "Hand Jive" instructions for Grease Live. My summation on January's production is coming soon, and looking more favorable every day I think about "RH."

BOTTOM LINE:
     The costumes were as expected, the singing was good, and the casting was adequate. There was one notable exception of Rocky, who seemed to clomp like an elephant one moment, and deftly maneuver around a bed the next. I liked the rendition of the "pool" scene in this version more than in the older movie. Quite honestly, most of that scene should be cut. It comes at a part of the movie when everyone is sensing it's filler. My recommendation is to stick with a live action version being acted out along with the movie. I'll give this version a solid 2.75 out of 5 stars. I bumped it up from 2.5 because of how sad and uncomfortable stroke survivor Tim Rice (the original Dr. Frank) looked as the narrator.

Pushing the Season

This morning I recieved an e-mail that said "Christmas Starts Now" in the title. Note that today is November 1st. Christmas is now 54 days away. Could we wait a week or two before we get taken over by the spirit?