Musical TV Episodes- From Buffy to Greys

So a week ago, I watched the Grey's Anatomy- The Musical Event. It was good. I liked it. Although as the Ew.com review clearly pointed out an alarming details -and I always notice those alarming details in shows- but why was everyone singing and having happy sex while Callie lay there possibly dying? That major fact aside, and the way too liberal amount of singing they gave Dr. Hunt, it was a good episode. There were stronger songs- Running on Sunshine, How to Save A Life, Chasing Cars, and The Story (watch the live version- its so much better than the recorded one)- to name a few.

FLASHBACK MOMENT- I looked up the clip where "Chasing Cars" was first used, back in the 2006 season 2 finale- when Karev had a heart and pulled Izzy off her dead fiance's bed. Check it out, George is alive, Meredith is still dark and twisty,Callie has a horrible mess of hair, and even the slutty redhead nurse is in the background. Meanwhile, McDreamy is acting all McShady because he just met Meredith in the exam room and he's supposed to be working things out with the wife. Christina is going to reconcile with Dr. Burke (and how weird was it for her to constantly be touting his procedure in this episode, I mean the dude left her at the altar). To further add to this nostalgia, check out Chris O'Donnell as McVet. Ah, memories.

First of all, thank you to Greys for letting Eli (AKA Franco from Rescue Me) dance Dr. Bailey all around the nurses' station and Scott Foley sing. I'm a big fan of the Foley and I'm 99% sure he is going to make a complete career comeback!

Second, I love Sara Ramirez's voice more than life itself. This is why the musical worked. she led the cast in her ephemeral half-there/floating ghost form, singing everyone through their pain.

Third, wonderfully sexy singing came from Karev and McSteamy! They deserved to sing more. And Mr. McDreamy was mysteriously silent- and he did sing the tiniest bit in the movie Enchanted. On second thought, I think he was the only one that didn't sing.... but he had beautiful jazz hands during "That's How You Know."

Fourth, what is going on with the Lexie/Mark/Avery thing? she wants Mark, she cares for him through the birth of his kid, and when Avery gives her an ultimatum (good for you, Avery- don't be a shelf-boy, there is a fine line between waiting outside her door and waiting for someone who will never give their heart to you!), she goes home with him.

So to return to musical episodes, it all started with Cop Rock, but that was too high concept at the time. Without VH1- nobody would have known about CR. But if CR is the founding father, the Teddy Roosevelt if you will, of musical tv show episodes, then Buffy the Vampire Slayer is certainly the hell-raising Alice Roosevelt daughter of them. And that is why I will be posting about the groundbreaking season 6 episode, "Once More, With Feeling"(view the original trailer in the link) tomorrow. Check it out!

A Note About Fall Music I Can't Stop Spinning: Animalism in Music

I've noticed an increasing about of songs coming out that really relate to animals. Not the fuzzy love and uicorn types, but the bear your teeth, run throuigh the wind, howl at the night version. Here are my top 4 animal themed songs.

4. Animal Song- Savage Garden
It's an oldie (from 1999's Affirmation), but a very spiritual song about the free spirit. Running through the jungle with the wind in your hair and the sun at your feet never sounded so good. The rythmic drumming in the background takes on a tribal nature AND sounds like footsteps.

3. Feral Love- Wakey! Wakey!
From their recent album (Everything I Wish I Said Since the Last Time I Saw You- great title!), is more than a standard "lamenting about a former love track". It's got a dark and twisted "my love was taken away from me in a hunting incident" feel. Wakey! Wakey! frontman Mike Grubbs was also a guest star on One Tree Hill last season playing the Tric bartender. They played some really great tracks from the band during the later part of last season.

2. Portions for Foxes- Rilo Kiley
I didn't discover this fabulous song (from the 2004 More Adventurous release) until about four years after it was played in the Grey's Anatomy pilot (When Meredith drives through Seattle to the hospital), but I fell in love with it. Nothing like a bad romance (yes I went there) to leave you as as portions for the foxes.

1. Animal- Neon Trees
I went through a recent weekend of hearing this song over and over, but having no idea about the artist, song title, or most of the exact lyrics were. Try doing a web search for "Take a Bite of My Heart Tonight" and see what I'm talking about. After a lot of searching I finally found this track (from the 2010 Habits release), which is getting some great radio play. I'm pretty sure their song was on some CW show recently.