TV Shows of 06

As I get older I'm finding that either TV is getting more interesting, or I'm getting more dull. I'm not sure which. But this year there has been tons of fascinating TV, which thanks to Tivo, I get to watch plenty of. So here are my favorite TV shows of 06.

1. BattleStar Galactica - One of the best shows ever. It's more complex than an Arthur C. Clark novel, gritty as hell, and shows the world through an honest militaristic point a view. It kind of reminds me of the magic that the original Star Wars had. And to top it all off they scare the hell out of you with the Cylon's (scary ass robots), on TV no less. All I can say is WOW.
2. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - After watching SNL for 16-20 years this show just totally fascinates me, not to mention that it's well written, smart and well acted.
3. Heroes - Another show that was made just for me. Because I watched the prerequisites as a kid. Right, you know what I'm talking about, you got Knight Rider, the Greatest American Hero, Incredible Hulk, Million Dollar Man, etc... do I have to name any more?
4. Grey's Anatomy - Sexy, Soon to be Surgeons, getting it on, and making mistakes. Thumbs Up.
5. The Office - Oh My God is this show funny. It's Pam-tastic.
6. Veronica Mars - I can't stop watching this show. I've tried like 5 times and I keep coming back. Witty, Edgy dialog, plus it's the first show to reference and reuse the word FARK (the new swear from BattleStar).
7. How I Met Your Mother - One of the better written current sitcoms. So if they wrote a Friends like show aimed at early 30 year old geeks, this would be it. Plus Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser) rocks as Barney, a tweak on his role in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
8. Lost - I don't know what's happening? But I still tune in.
9. 24 - Addictive, and surprising. Another show I've tried to quite, put keeps pulling me back in.
10. ER - I'm amazed that not only is this show still going, it's thriving. Though I gotta say it would suck to be one of those doctor's, because every crazy ass thing possible is going to happen to you. And in the end you will probably die a horrible death.

Guilty Pleasures: SNL, RockStar

So in conclusion I have no life. And with the beauty of Tivo I can choose when I have no life.

My Favorite Albums of 2006

I've been wanting to do this for years. I've watched all my friends put these together, but I never really had a forum for it. Though I can't use the term "Best Of" because it would imply that this is something of which I am an expert in, which I'm not. Nor do I qualify as one of the cool kids, because I would have to name at least 7 bands that 95% of the world has never heard of. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just aint me. So mostly these are albums that I've listened too over and over again, which is much harder to do in this day and age. So on with the list of my Favorite Albums of 2006.

Favorite Albums

1. Ganging Up On the Sun - Guster.
I never quite understood what people saw in Guster until I heard this album, and was totally blown away. It sounds aged and sophisticated, but also very modern and rough at the same time. Also, this album has a good variety of songs it's not fourteen versions of the same song which plague many bands similar to Guster.

2. Plans - Death Cab for Cutie.
Great solid album, from a band that's always been flirting with solid albums. Another band that I didn't give enough credit too in the past.

3. Oh No - Ok Go
This album is really from 2005 when I thought it was one of the most under appreciated albums of all time. But I've listened too it alot this year and a lot has changed in one year. Now they are riding a big wave of attention thanks to their you-tube exercise video (Which sadly guarantees that they won't be playing the Blind Pig (small Ann Arbor bar) again next year). Personally I think it was a fun and totally solid album.

4. Broken Boy Soldiers - Raconteurs
This proves that Jack White is better in small doses, applied more as a seasoning than a main course.

5. Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Few bands could put out a double CD that has this many good songs on it (about 3 albums worth compared to most albums of late). My only complaint is that the song order wasn't very thoughtfully put together, but hey that's what playlists are for. Am I right?

Albums that Surprised Me

1. St. Elswhere - Gnarls Barkly
2. Eye to the Telescope - KT Tunstall
3. Revelations - Audioslave
4. FutureSex/LoveSounds - Justin Timberlake
5. Curios George - Jack Johnson

Bummers

1. Sams Town - Killers.
One of the few musical let downs of the year. Mostly because the last album rocked and the new single was actually better than the last album. But the rest of the album just comes off weird. I guess it's kind of like how if you listen to some Queen albums from the 70's & 80's you're surprised people actually spent money on them, like Hot Space from 1984. But when you put Under Pressure in a greatest hits package it blows you away.

SNL idea

I've been watching Saturday Night Live since 1984 (middle school for me) when I first learned to program my parents VCR (I also recorded Friday Night Videos). And SNL has become one of my favorite shows because of it's creativity and edgy humor. It's even gotten better in the last few years. But the show's curse is that each show only has a few great sketches. Which can be obnoxious, but also kind of makes sense when you only have one week to write and create a show that complex.

So I was thinking that it would be cool if they could somehow grab all the best sketches and throw them together.

So this is my idea. I think they should start having fans rate all the sketches for each show on SNL's website, and then at the end of the season have a show that is created from the best rated skits and performances of the year. Which they could so easily do right now as a clip show. But to make it even cooler they should actually have a live show where they recreate the sketches and make the guests come back (free publicity) or if they can't make it have other guest to fill in.

Just an idea. But a totally doable idea.

Older

I'm noticing of late that the older I get the harder it is find inspiration outside of myself. It's definitely still possible, but I'm finding it hard to clear my brain of all the daily crap. The same musical performance or movie that would have blown me away 10 years ago now just reminds me of something that I have to do next week. I used to go home from an amazing concert and want to start a painting at 2 in the morning, or write a song about whatever I thought of on the walk home. Now it's hard enough to get to a concert, let alone be inspired by it. So how do you clear your head of clutter when it's always in your face? I have no clear answer. Plus it also seems like every new thing leads to new chores and new complications.

But in the end I've decided that just because it's harder, doesn't mean I'm ready to give up looking. Because when inspiration does hit, it's totally worth it. And the memory of every stupid complication that it took to get me there just ends up fading away.

Talk, Talk

Hey, I figured it was time for me to do get some words out there floating around cybersapce. So here it goes!