TV | tender is the night

Posted on January 18, 2012 by ally

Seriously. If only someone would pay me to watch TV for a living. I reckon I’d do a really good job analysing story lines, characterisations, filtering the hits from the misses. It’s no easy feat y’know? Some shows can be excruciatingly painful.

But let’s just pretend that watching TV is my job, okay? That will completely justify this post.

Two new shows that you need to watch this season:

Smash gives us an insight into the production of a new Broadway musical, and some of the key people behind it. With an effort to bring the story of Marilyn Monroe to the stage, we’re made to choose sides as two aspiring actresses (Karen, the ingenue with the voice, and Ivy, the more experienced supporting act who yearns to finally be the headliner) vie for the lead role, and our hearts. It’s still a little early, so I’ve yet to pick a team. The other characters have their own issues (of course they do), and I like these actors (Debra Messing & Jack Davenport) enough to care. It was also a nice surprise to see people from SYTYCD (Spencer Liff! Alex Wong!) having bit roles, doing what they do best. So is it better than Glee? It certainly has the potential to be.

Alcatraz BLEW MY MIND. I can’t even begin to explain how crazy/good this show is. It’s classic JJ Abrams with Mysteries! Twists! Time travel! An island! Jorge Garcia! I know, I know… Sounds a lot like Lost. And goodness knows how much I miss that show! I still feel sad whenever I think about that finale. *sniffs* Alcatraz doesn’t seem set up to be as character-driven as Lost, but the story is certainly intriguing enough to keep viewers around for awhile. And because I’ve remained completely spoiler-free, I caught myself dropping my jaw at least three times in each of the first two episodes. Definitely a good sign of things to come? And might I mention again – Jorge Garcia. It’d almost seem wrong for any Lost fan to not watch this show.

. . . . .

Song of the Day

Michigan, by The Milk Carton Kids

Posted on November 15, 2011 by ally

I’ve always been in awe of A Cappella groups. It’s really not easy harmonizing with other singers and filling in for all the instruments; how they are able to make such a tight sound using nothing but their voices never fails to Blow. My. Mind.

Thanks to The Sing-Off, this genre is finally getting the recognition it deserves. And this season, one group really stood out for me.

In all the three seasons that have aired, no other group has been more smart about their arrangements than Pentatonix. Listening to them, you wouldn’t think there’s only five people, but because they have a sick, sick bass, a CRAMAZING beatboxer and three vocalists who are so tight together, Pentatonix has been able to work around everyone’s strengths and KILL almost every performance.

Here are my top 5 performances thus far:

5. Your Love Is My Drug (Ke$ha)

4. Video Killed The Radio Star (The Buggles)

3. Stuck Like Glue (Sugarland)

2. Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye)

1. Love Lockdown (Kanye West)

The Sing-Off will crown the Season 3 winner in a couple of weeks (which I get to watch, live on TV, IN NYC!) but I’ll go so far as to say that this competition is totally theirs to lose.

Posted on September 20, 2011 by ally

My favourite singing competition is baaaaack!

(Previous posts about The Sing-Off are here and here.)

Let’s talk about this performance for a minute. I don’t usually like female groups so I didn’t expect much from Delilah, and even groaned when I found out they were performing Grenade (like the song, but it’s overplayed). But this performance is crazy, crazy, AMAZING: