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Entry tags:
- glee,
- music,
- personal,
- smash,
- television
Kitchen Sink Post: Smash Review, Glee, TV, Music and personal news..
1)So far I adore the new tv series Smash - this week's episode was better than last week's. Beautifully written, great songs, great dance numbers, and felt realistic - I do actually know something about Broadway and actors/singers/dancers on Broadway. Also done the whole musical thing in college (think Cordelia (I look more like Charisma Chase than Alyson Hannigan) forced to sing and dance, and lip-syncing instead.) And have known a lot of professional actors and singers. So, this actually looked realistic. They are filming in an actual theater on Staten Island. They have a choreographer who is trained in the Jerome Robbins School of Choreography, and original songs written by the writing team behind Hairspray. This show unlike Glee is realistic. Or about as close as we'll get. Keep in mind, Glee isn't supposed to be realistic, it's pure satire. I'm just tired of satire. I'm half watching Glee at the moment. It did do a good satire on the public school system last week - where teachers are often teaching courses they know nothing about.
This happened a lot. I had history teachers - whose knowledge of history was well, based on the text-books we got. They were trained in PE. And Music Teachers who were actually English teachers. It was insane. The American Public Educational system is not the best in the universe and has some serious problems. It's not the teacher's fault, it's the system. And Glee does do a great job of satirizing the hell out of it. But I'm not sure people outside of the US can identify? Smash is in some respects far more enjoyable and a lot better written. Less mean.
Smash is selling me on the whole Marilyn bit, which is a lot harder than it looks since I'm not a Marilyn fan. Always found her to be a bit overrated. But Smash is changing my mind. Also the cast continues to impress. Granted the whole adoption bit is well...but it's also realistic. My sisinlaw's step-mom did the whole Chinese adoption bit. I've met people who have done that - and it is exactly like that. Whoever is writing this thing is either writing what they know or has done extensive research. Because the details aren't bugging me.
It's also by far the best of the Spielberg series that I've tried. I've tried Falling Skies (got bored in fifteen minutes flat - too derivative), Terra Nova (ditto), The River (trying another episode, but yes, ditto), but Smash is brand new and I've not seen it done on tv before and it's actually good. Also not preachy. So far.
It may not be your thing. I'm an insane musical theater fanatic. I love musicals. I watched High School musical (it's bad, truly). And the musical numbers in Smash rock. I want to see the show now. Also I love the process - how Debra Messing's character (still don't know her name) looks at the song board and figures out - okay we start here. I see it in my head she states. And I think - yes, exactly!
2) There's another mid-season replacement that I'm excited about - Jason Issacs (you know him as Draco Malfoy's Dad in the Harry Potter films) portrays a man who's split his consciousness in two - and isn't sure which world is real. He has had a car crash with his wife and son. In one reality his wife survives. In the other his son survives. He closes his eyes and he is in the other reality. He doesn't know which reality is real. He's a detective. So it is episodic in that sense, with a mystery to solve each week but the catch is - the man is living two lives and is aware of both. What innovative idea. It's called AWAKE and premiers in March. Definitely one to watch out for.
3)In personal news? I'm looking into singing lessons and possibly art lessons. I'm better at art. And tend to enter a sort of zen state of being when I do art...so that may be a better idea. But expensive. The singing is cheaper. Also I never know what to do with the art when I finish it. But the singing scares me.
Writing? I do that anyway. I write emotionally online. I'm an emotional writer, but at work I bleach the writing of the emotion. Pull it out. Make it as dry and clear as possible and precise. I could be in the wrong job. But I don't see a way out of it. And I can't really tell. Can anyone? Life is like an unsolvable puzzle...that I can't quite figure out the key code to.
4) Mark Watches...I'm still reading, but close to giving up. The reviews read like a 15-16 year old boy with the hots for Cordelia and Faith, which is incredibly odd considering Mark is gay. OR so he tells me. He may be bi, for all I know. But he is a huge Cordy/Faith shipper. He actually prefers the subsidiary characters to the leads, Angel, Cordy, Faith, Joyce, OZ and Jenny which is going to prove problematic since all of them leave the series in various ways. Talk about poor character shipping choices. In addition? No understanding of metaphor whatsoever. Completely missed the fact that the series is Buffy centric - every episode. The Wish wasn't Cordy centric it was Buffy centric. Cordy isn't developed at all in Buffy. And this boy is in for a world of hurt in Angel S4 - regarding Cordy. I also think Restless may go over his head. And I'm getting tired of the hyperbole. I hate to admit this? But one of my friends on my flist called it when she said it was like reading a reality tv show...it is. Has the same weird plasticine energy. Yet for some weird reason I can't stop tuning in. Even when I get horribly disappointed. But I want to know if Restless blows his mind, like it did a lot of people. It's basically a visual poem, nothing but metaphor. It made perfect sense to me. But confused and annoyed a lot of people. My problem with Mark may well be that I'm too analytical and too knowledgable in the series...or too much of a fan?
5) After downloading both Adelle 's album 21 and Florence and The Machine's Lung's last night and listening to them at work today, came to the conclusion that Florence and The Machine is a lot more interesting and was robbed. Adelle got old fast. She has three good songs on her album, Somebody to Love, Rolling in the Deep and Rumor has it. But everything else feels repetitive. Reminds me a lot of Amy Whinehouse and Christina Aguilerra vocally - that deep multi-layered voice. Lady Gaga's voice is similar. Goes up and down the scales, yet tends to be a deep alto. I love altos and bass, not a fan of high soprano. Meanwhile...Paul McCartney's Wings Greatest Hits is also quite good, diverse and not repetitive. It doesn't sound the same. My hunt for a perfect mix is music that does not sound the same.
Florence and the Machine does remind me a great deal of The Cranberries though sound wise, has that same psuedo British/Irish Gaillic sound, not that they are, really have no idea, but they have that lyrical feel...and the lyrics haunt in the same way. Not a bad thing, I rather liked the Cranberries.
For a bit of flavor, downloaded three old Glenn Campbell songs, Taylor Swift who is admittedly a bit too nasal for my taste (that's my problem with straight country - similar issues with Carrie Underwood, which is why I went for Megan McVilty's rendition of Crazy Dreams over Carrie's. Megan's was on SMASH tonight and a lot smoother. Carrie's is too twangy and distracting as a result. Had same issue with Dolly Parton and why I prefer Whitney Houston's I'll Always Love You to Parton's version, Parton sounds like she is singing through her nose. I'd say this is a Southern tendency, but I think it's more East Coast. The East Coast from approximately Boston downwards has a tendency to talk through its nose. Annoying. Southern PA is the worst, you should hear my relatives.) And Wilson Phillips - Hold On - which I blame Bridesmaids for bringing to my attention, just as Glee reminded me of Love Shack - although Glee did a horrific rendition of it, so I went with Lobsters instead. Can't remember who did it originally - should have gotten them. Was a huge dance song when I was in college. Got Florence and the Machine's rendition of Addicted to Love - which is so different from the original version, it's mind-blowing, haunting actually. Amazing how a different octave and musical composition can affect a song, isn't it?
Momster is trying to talk me out of singing lessons. She's projecting. She thinks I can't read music. I actually can. Or hear the octaves. I can. My difficulty may well be my breathing also the fact that I can't seem to hear myself the way others do.
My problem with piano wasn't the inability to read the music, it was lack of coordination and rhythm. Same problem with dance. If no-one else was in the room, I was fine.
This happened a lot. I had history teachers - whose knowledge of history was well, based on the text-books we got. They were trained in PE. And Music Teachers who were actually English teachers. It was insane. The American Public Educational system is not the best in the universe and has some serious problems. It's not the teacher's fault, it's the system. And Glee does do a great job of satirizing the hell out of it. But I'm not sure people outside of the US can identify? Smash is in some respects far more enjoyable and a lot better written. Less mean.
Smash is selling me on the whole Marilyn bit, which is a lot harder than it looks since I'm not a Marilyn fan. Always found her to be a bit overrated. But Smash is changing my mind. Also the cast continues to impress. Granted the whole adoption bit is well...but it's also realistic. My sisinlaw's step-mom did the whole Chinese adoption bit. I've met people who have done that - and it is exactly like that. Whoever is writing this thing is either writing what they know or has done extensive research. Because the details aren't bugging me.
It's also by far the best of the Spielberg series that I've tried. I've tried Falling Skies (got bored in fifteen minutes flat - too derivative), Terra Nova (ditto), The River (trying another episode, but yes, ditto), but Smash is brand new and I've not seen it done on tv before and it's actually good. Also not preachy. So far.
It may not be your thing. I'm an insane musical theater fanatic. I love musicals. I watched High School musical (it's bad, truly). And the musical numbers in Smash rock. I want to see the show now. Also I love the process - how Debra Messing's character (still don't know her name) looks at the song board and figures out - okay we start here. I see it in my head she states. And I think - yes, exactly!
2) There's another mid-season replacement that I'm excited about - Jason Issacs (you know him as Draco Malfoy's Dad in the Harry Potter films) portrays a man who's split his consciousness in two - and isn't sure which world is real. He has had a car crash with his wife and son. In one reality his wife survives. In the other his son survives. He closes his eyes and he is in the other reality. He doesn't know which reality is real. He's a detective. So it is episodic in that sense, with a mystery to solve each week but the catch is - the man is living two lives and is aware of both. What innovative idea. It's called AWAKE and premiers in March. Definitely one to watch out for.
3)In personal news? I'm looking into singing lessons and possibly art lessons. I'm better at art. And tend to enter a sort of zen state of being when I do art...so that may be a better idea. But expensive. The singing is cheaper. Also I never know what to do with the art when I finish it. But the singing scares me.
Writing? I do that anyway. I write emotionally online. I'm an emotional writer, but at work I bleach the writing of the emotion. Pull it out. Make it as dry and clear as possible and precise. I could be in the wrong job. But I don't see a way out of it. And I can't really tell. Can anyone? Life is like an unsolvable puzzle...that I can't quite figure out the key code to.
4) Mark Watches...I'm still reading, but close to giving up. The reviews read like a 15-16 year old boy with the hots for Cordelia and Faith, which is incredibly odd considering Mark is gay. OR so he tells me. He may be bi, for all I know. But he is a huge Cordy/Faith shipper. He actually prefers the subsidiary characters to the leads, Angel, Cordy, Faith, Joyce, OZ and Jenny which is going to prove problematic since all of them leave the series in various ways. Talk about poor character shipping choices. In addition? No understanding of metaphor whatsoever. Completely missed the fact that the series is Buffy centric - every episode. The Wish wasn't Cordy centric it was Buffy centric. Cordy isn't developed at all in Buffy. And this boy is in for a world of hurt in Angel S4 - regarding Cordy. I also think Restless may go over his head. And I'm getting tired of the hyperbole. I hate to admit this? But one of my friends on my flist called it when she said it was like reading a reality tv show...it is. Has the same weird plasticine energy. Yet for some weird reason I can't stop tuning in. Even when I get horribly disappointed. But I want to know if Restless blows his mind, like it did a lot of people. It's basically a visual poem, nothing but metaphor. It made perfect sense to me. But confused and annoyed a lot of people. My problem with Mark may well be that I'm too analytical and too knowledgable in the series...or too much of a fan?
5) After downloading both Adelle 's album 21 and Florence and The Machine's Lung's last night and listening to them at work today, came to the conclusion that Florence and The Machine is a lot more interesting and was robbed. Adelle got old fast. She has three good songs on her album, Somebody to Love, Rolling in the Deep and Rumor has it. But everything else feels repetitive. Reminds me a lot of Amy Whinehouse and Christina Aguilerra vocally - that deep multi-layered voice. Lady Gaga's voice is similar. Goes up and down the scales, yet tends to be a deep alto. I love altos and bass, not a fan of high soprano. Meanwhile...Paul McCartney's Wings Greatest Hits is also quite good, diverse and not repetitive. It doesn't sound the same. My hunt for a perfect mix is music that does not sound the same.
Florence and the Machine does remind me a great deal of The Cranberries though sound wise, has that same psuedo British/Irish Gaillic sound, not that they are, really have no idea, but they have that lyrical feel...and the lyrics haunt in the same way. Not a bad thing, I rather liked the Cranberries.
For a bit of flavor, downloaded three old Glenn Campbell songs, Taylor Swift who is admittedly a bit too nasal for my taste (that's my problem with straight country - similar issues with Carrie Underwood, which is why I went for Megan McVilty's rendition of Crazy Dreams over Carrie's. Megan's was on SMASH tonight and a lot smoother. Carrie's is too twangy and distracting as a result. Had same issue with Dolly Parton and why I prefer Whitney Houston's I'll Always Love You to Parton's version, Parton sounds like she is singing through her nose. I'd say this is a Southern tendency, but I think it's more East Coast. The East Coast from approximately Boston downwards has a tendency to talk through its nose. Annoying. Southern PA is the worst, you should hear my relatives.) And Wilson Phillips - Hold On - which I blame Bridesmaids for bringing to my attention, just as Glee reminded me of Love Shack - although Glee did a horrific rendition of it, so I went with Lobsters instead. Can't remember who did it originally - should have gotten them. Was a huge dance song when I was in college. Got Florence and the Machine's rendition of Addicted to Love - which is so different from the original version, it's mind-blowing, haunting actually. Amazing how a different octave and musical composition can affect a song, isn't it?
Momster is trying to talk me out of singing lessons. She's projecting. She thinks I can't read music. I actually can. Or hear the octaves. I can. My difficulty may well be my breathing also the fact that I can't seem to hear myself the way others do.
My problem with piano wasn't the inability to read the music, it was lack of coordination and rhythm. Same problem with dance. If no-one else was in the room, I was fine.
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"Completely missed the fact that the series is Buffy centric - every episode. The Wish wasn't Cordy centric it was Buffy centric."
Yes, exactly. Couldn't have said it better myself (to quote Angelus). But OTOH, lots of people seem to be fans of the show on surface level issues, and that's great in its own way.
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Just not all that entertaining to read. I mean the guy is doing this for a living. It's his JOB.
If he were you or me, sure, I'd by that. It's very odd to be reviewing shows for a living, and reviewing them in such a superficial manner.
What are you adding of monetary value? Anything?
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But if he leads new fans to the show, I'm good with that. Maybe some of them will come to you or me for enlightenment. :)
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More power to him.
But I'll probably stop reading soon.
He's sort of boring, reminds me of the less interesting posters on fanboards back in the day or Wanda and EW. And I'm guessing a lot of others will too.
Most likely won't pop in again until he gets to S4 Restless.
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Also..
*Does Amy stay a rat forever? No. But you will wish she did.
*Did Giles and Joyce have sex? Yes.
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If his stories about his mother are true, she's not the worst of the year, she's the worst ever.
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(Well there are much much worse..unfortunately. Remember Mandy? Whose parents had issues not with the watching of a graphically violent and sexually suggestive tv series, but that two women were shown in a loving sexual relationship in it and that could turn their daughter gay. By that logic, you'd think they'd be more worried she'd turn into a mass murderer.)
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The logic of all that escapes me, so I think "insane" pretty well covers it.
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Hmm... I may have to start taping that.
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Broadway playwrite and theater vet - Theresa Rebeck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Rebeck
Her resume is longer and more versatile than either Joss Whedon or
Jane Espenson. She's written everything - books, films, tv, plays and musicals. Currently her play Seminar starring Alan Rickman is on Broadway. She knows the politics of these worlds first hand.
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NYC is pricey. That's what OWS was about.
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I like reading his blogs... but I don't always like the reviews themselves? If I'm honest with myself, I read them mostly because it's a convenient thing to pull up and read on my lunch breaks at work, and I like seeing the comments people make and the various discussions. And it IS sometimes entertaining to see him completely freak out over plot twists because he seems to have very little ability to predict anything, even when the show/book drops foreshadowing like bricks. But you're absolutely right that the reviews have no real analysis in them and that can be annoying.
Anyway, I'm rather new to Buffy myself, having only started watching a few months ago, so I'm enjoying reading different takes on the series, including yours. :) (And it is kind of nice to see outside opinions on the Mark communities. Makes me feel a little less crazy when they do things that bother me.)
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If I'm honest with myself, I read them mostly because it's a convenient thing to pull up and read on my lunch breaks at work, and I like seeing the comments people make and the various discussions. And it IS sometimes entertaining to see him completely freak out over plot twists because he seems to have very little ability to predict anything, even when the show/book drops foreshadowing like bricks. But you're absolutely right that the reviews have no real analysis in them and that can be annoying.
I'm reading his reviews for pretty much the same reasons. Something easy to pull up on lunch breaks at work that requires no thought. Also his reactions to some of the episodes amuse me.
Anyway, I'm rather new to Buffy myself, having only started watching a few months ago, so I'm enjoying reading different takes on the series, including yours. :)
There is another site that's doing a rewatch from the beginning and has more in-depth analysis:
http://unpaidsophistry.blogspot.com/2011/10/buffy-vampire-slayer-myth-metaphor-and.html
I'm guessing you already know about Buffyforums and Whedonesque?
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I did hear mention of those two on one of your other posts, I think. I haven't looked so much into internet sites yet, but I might check them out.
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http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/tvshow/buffy-angel,45/
Another is here:
http://cultural-learnings.com/2011/06/15/cultural-catchup-project-flooded-buffy-the-vampire-slayer/
And gabrielleabelle -http://gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com/profile
and http://local-max.livejournal.com/profile (local-max)
both are doing rewatchings. They are far more interesting than Mark Watches...and have more to say. ;-)
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