| Item |
the Good |
the Bad |
the Rest |
| Summer Songs |
Jack Johnson 'Flake' always got turned up, Nelly 'Hot In Here' was especially fitting during with what seemed like a permanent heat wave and Jimmy Eat World 'The Sweetness' is flat out a fun song. The songs by the Hives, the Vines and the White Stripes were hands down the best of the summer, but I'll be damned if I knew who was who. |
I'll be the first to admit that I am a huge fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt's appearance. When I heard she was going to make an album I was skeptical. When I heard the title was 'Bare Naked' I was intrigued. When I heard the song I changed the station. It joins all songs by Britney Spears as videos that are watched with the TV muted. |
John Mayer 'No Such Thing' is enjoyable, but it has to be turned down whenever in public. It is safe to assume that passerbys may slap you in the head when they recognize the song's inoffensive nature probably means whoever is listening is a wimp. |
| CD's I burned |
Jack Johnson "Brushfire Fairytales," with an addicting mix of acoustic guitar and catchy hooks got the most listens. Red Hot Chili Peppers "By The Way" is close to Californication as their best effort ever. Our Lady Peace "Gravity" was a little wimpier than their previous offerings, but was still heavy in the rotation. Weezer "Maladroit" was my favorite of the summer, especially the song 'Burnt Jam." |
Counting Crows "Hard Candy" was a huge disappointment. It is livelier than anything else they've done, but it sounds more like a Steely Dan record. |
"The Eminem Show" is solid, 'Without Me'and 'Business' are great songs,but 'Sing For the Moment,' with Aerosmith's 'Dream On' sampled is bad enough to make me not want to listen to the CD. |
| State of Popular Music |
The phrase 'return of the rock' summed it up best. Popular music is cyclical. In the early 1990's rock made a long overdue comeback. Teen idols such as Paula Abdul and New Kids On the Block faded into oblivion and were replaced by rockers such as Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Nirvana. The process repeated itself this summer as the Hives, the Strokes and the White Stripes began to overtake Britney, N Sync and the Backstreet Boys. |
Pop radio was littered with girl musicians who sounded alike. Avril Lavigne, Pink, No Doubt, Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch all recorded the same songs, only changing the lyrics along the way. |
Britney Spears went to new lengths to look trashy. Again proving my theory that pop music is cyclical, Britney follows Paula Abdul and Debbie Gibson, trying to go from girl next door to sexpot. Sorry Paula, but Britney is MUCH better at it. |
| Movies |
Spiderman was a revelation, in that it did not suck. The special effects were super. I saw Star Wars Episode II three times, as it was immensely better than Episode I. Signs, a thriller with a conscience, was my favorite movie of the summer. Who would have ever thought that cornfields could be spooky? |
Two ex- Saturnday Night Live actors brought back characters from previous movies with poor results. Adam Sandler plays essentially the same character every movie, and Mr. Deeds was no different. Mike Meyers did Austin Powers In Goldmember, the third Austin Powers film. Both films proved that the actors need to get some new gags. Austin Powers was the better of the two, but enough is enough. Time for some new material, guys. |
The commercial for Master Of Disguise starring Dana Carvey had my favorite movie moment. I will not do it justice, but Carvey uses the flapping hand motion to tell another character to quiet down. Words cannot describe the laughter that overtakes me when I see that trailer. I am laughing while typing this. I did not see it, but the movie was surely subpar. That scene, however, was great. |
| Television |
I spent most of my summer watching the Boston Red Sox, reruns of the Simpsons and Seinfeld. People seemed to like that American Idol. |
The Anna Nicole Smith Show is ridiculous. The MTV Video Awards were forgettable. Christina Aguilera tried to sound streetwise and instead sounded stupid. Guns 'N Roses sounded good, but Axl Rose sounded like Gwen Stefani. |
Television executives seem to use the Magic Eight Ball method of picking shows. Most TV sucks. Too bad Conan and Letterman are on so late. |
| Personalities |
That kid with the afro on American Idol has the haircut I dream of. Good for him. |
I saw a MTV biography of Canadian teen pop singer Avril Lavigne. What an annoying girl. Avoid her at all costs. Eminem got really mad at a puppet, Triumph the insult dog at the MTV awards. Apparently he is running out of people to berate in his music. The Teletubbies better watch out. |
Please, no more 1-800-COLLECT commercials with Carrottop. |
| Misc. |
Vanilla Coke was a nice find. Jerry Seinfeld at the Wang Theatre was the best live event I attended. Occasionally laugh- out -loud funny, consistently witty, with a big heart, 'The Ringer' by Bill Scheft was a good read. |
Pop- up ads seem to annoy at every website. The baseball strike was averted, but not before the players and owners lost most of America's respect. DJ's opie and Anthony were fired, finally bringing music back to afternoon radio in many parts of the country. |
Due to a scheduling conflict (Sox game) I missed the Sammy Hagar/ David Lee Roth show. It was probably terrible, but I would have loved to be there. These guys were the topic of many big arguments when I was a kid, having been rivals and lead singers of my favorite band at the time. As an added bonus Gary Cherone played with Hagar, meaning three freaks fired by Van Halen on the same bill! |
