Author Archives: Ellen Lloyd

Fangirly Exposed: A Square Peg Who Wanted to be a Daria

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square dariaRecently, I was discussing my high school identity with a friend of mine, attempting to explain my desire to be that cool and aloof teen.  Looking back, I can readily admit that I never quite nailed it.  I was too dorky and silly, and I wore far too many bright colors (I love bright colors!).  Trying to paint a picture of what I was like in high school, I told my friend that I wanted to be Daria, but I was too dorky.

When I was in high school, I loved to watch Daria.  I was (and still am) a girl with brown hair and glasses, after all.  What wasn’t to love?  She spoke to the existential, sarcastic teen in me.

Looking back on my high school career, however, I can never claim to have been nearly as cool as Daria.  If I had to pick a pop culture teen to align myself with, it would most likely be one of the Square Pegs girls.  How depressing is that?  Less concerned with popularity than them, but “don’t want to wear my glasses, but I have to wear my glasses”.

Give the epic title song a listen and then let me know who the comments who you were as a teen?  Topanga?  Clarissa?  Cher Horowitz? DJ Tanner?

– Ellen

Fangirly Crush of the Week: Jimmy Fallon

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jimmy_fallonDing Dong the host is fired.  Yep, Jay Leno is finally stepping down (deja vu?) and Jimmy Fallon is reportedly stepping in to take The Tonight Show in 2014.

13-year old me could not be more excited and present-day me is pretty excited, as well.  When Jimmy Fallon was on SNL, my little heart beat so hard for him.  He used to do a sketch called “Wake Up Wakefield”, where Maya Rudolph was a middle schooler who crushed on his Randy Goldman so hard that she had T-Shirts with his silk screened face.  I wanted that shirt.  I settled for the picture above taped to my wall.

Every time I watch him now, I am reminded of how twitterpated he made me with his dorky charm and “aw-shucks” vibe.  He’s still got it and that’s why I love him.

– Ellen

Run-On Sentence Reviews: Jack the Giant Slayer

Posted in Movies, Run-On Sentence Reviews by

JACK THE GIANT SLAYERI went into this with fairly low expectations which I find usually leads to me quite enjoying a movie so it should come as no surprise that I quite liked this even though it wasn’t anything amazing it was still enjoyable and Ewan McGregor was super fine and I swear he doesn’t age and Nicholas Hoult was pretty adorable as well and all in all, it was a pretty good time at the cinema.

Verdict: If you are looking for pure, escapist fun (or if you also enjoy watching Ewan McGregor), then you just might enjoy this movie.

– Ellen

Web Bytes: Much Ado About Nothing Trailer

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much_ado_about_nothing_still_a_lCould my day get any better?  I stumbled upon this trailer today and am now only upset that it took me a full week to do so.

Much Ado About Nothing has always been my favorite Shakespeare play, so when you throw in Joss Whedon, one of my favorite people out there, I’m sold.

The trailer has done nothing to put a damper on said excitement.  In fact, it increasing with alarming frenzy after each viewing of the trailer.  Maybe I should just stop watching it?

– Ellen

Veronica Mars Movie: IT’S ON!

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VeronicaMarsWell, that’s it.  I have reached my happiness quotient for the month.  Nothing could possibly make me happier this month than this news.  Sure, my best friend is getting married this month, but as a fellow Veronica Mars fan, I’m sure she’ll understand.

Rob Thomas and Co.  have started a Kickstarter campaign to raise enough money to film the VM film this summer and all they need is our money!  But wait, there’s more!  Depending on how much you donate, you get all sorts of goodies.  For myself, I donated $50 and with that I get a DVD of the movie, a digital version of the movie, a copy of the script, and a T-shirt.

If you have any love whatsoever for this wonderful, underrated gem of a show, at least go watch the campaign video that they created.  I laughed, I cried, and I got crazy excited to think that I will get more Veronica Mars!!

– Ellen

Mixin’ It Up: March’s Playlist

Posted in Mixin' it Up, Music by

Boy_-_Mutual_FriendsThese posts take me a while to write, so let’s skip the chit chat and get to it.

“Little Numbers”  BOY – This is my number one pick that I’m pushing this month because I want more people to be as obsessed with this song as I am.  I just saw them them in concert this past Friday and they were so adorably genuine and just plum excited to be singing their songs for people.  Not to mention, the song is dang catchy.  I dare you listen and not start bopping your head or humming along by the last chorus.

“Heartbreaker”  Alabama Shakes – Last month began my love affair with Alabama Shakes.  I may be a little behind, but I have certainly made up for lost time over the past few weeks.  I love the Brittany’s voice and the sort of old school soul and garage band rock melding that they have going on.  Rather than recommend their two main tracks (“Hold On” and “Boys and Girls”, both of which I LOVE), I thought I would recommend the B-side-ish tracks that I really like.  “Heartbreaker” has all the possible passion that could fit into one song.

“Breakin’ Up”  Rilo Kiley – I had to include a Rilo Kiley song in this month’s mix because I am so excited for their new album that is coming out next month.  Like, beyond excited.  This is mainly due to the fact that they have not come out with a new album since 2007!  “Breakin’ Up” is a little more peppy than what I am expecting from their new album, but that doesn’t make me love it any less.   (The video I linked is this goofy, homemade video, but their dancing amuses me).

“White Nights”  Oh Land – While I don’t think I will ever be able to endorse Girls, I can safely say that I fully endorse the Girls soundtrack.  It has given me a few price gems, such as “White Nights” from this band I have never heard of.  It’s great.  Thanks for this, Girls, but stay away from Parks and Recreation Emmy awards.

“Velvet Elvis”  Alex Winston – While driving to the aforementioned concert this past weekend, my friend played this odd little song for me.  It is about a girl who is in love with a velvet portrait of Elvis.  I know what you’re thinking.  “Another Velvet Elvis song?”  But this was the earworm that would not leave after I listened to it, so I proceeded to buy and listen to it for three days, as you do with earworms.  Which brings us to present day, where I am still listening to it on repeat.

SLP“Girl from the North Country”  Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash– I’ve always been a mix girl rather than an album girl.  I am often made fun of for my eclectic mixes, but variety is the spice of life.  I think this is why I have always loved soundtracks.  They are mix CDs made by your favorite filmmakers and the songs have little music videos in your favorite movies.  Over the course of my three viewings of Silver Linings Playbook, this song has endeared itself to me.  Believe me, no one is more surprised than me to have two Bob Dylan songs in two months’ mixes, but it happened.

“Say You’ll Be There”  Spice Girls – I was recently discussing the value of Spice Girls with a friend of mine and I’m just going to come out and say it:  I STILL love the Spice Girls.  I bust out my Spice Girls albums on the regular.  They are just a plain ol’ good time and I am not going to hide in shame, so if you are in the LA area and you see a girl blasting this song in her car with reckless abandon, you’ll know who it is.

“Temptation”  New Order – I have encountered New Order a few time on my hipster movie soundtracks and have come to the conclusion that I love New Order.  Any time they are on a mix or soundtrack, that song is always my favorite song on the CD.  When I got the Perks of Being a Wallflower (I haven’t seen it, but why wouldn’t I usually like the soundtracks of hipsterific movies set in the 80s) soundtrack and saw that there was a New Order song, I knew that I was a goner.  Sure enough, I love “Temptation”.

“Skin”  BOY – Another sampling from BOY.  I had to include this song and link a video that someone took from the show that I went to because while I like the original recording of this song, I really loved the stripped down, melancholy version that they do live.  Now I can only wish that they will release this version somewhere so that I can download it and have it as my own.

“Always Alright”  Alabama Shakes – Another Alabama Shakes song, also featured on Silver Linings Playbook, because I just can’t get enough.  Seriously, watch the linked video and answer me this:  How cool is she?  I love her.

– Ellen

Fangirly Investigates: How Many Adaptations is Too Many?

Posted in Anglophiles Anonymous, Fangirly Investigates, Movies, TV by

Pride and PrejudiceMy love of all things Jane Austen is well-documented and thorough, so it should come as no surprise to you that I recently spent a Sunday watching the 5 hour 1995 Pride and Prejudice.  Imagine my (non) surprise when this marathon viewing only fueled my urgency to watch the 2005 adaptation within the hour.

This is what I love about adaptations.  The 1995 version will forever be my favorite because of its fidelity to the novel, its general humor and lightheartedness, and the Colin Firth-iness of it all, but I cannot deny that the passion and sweeping romantic splendor that Joe Wright infused into his adaptation gets to me, despite some of quibbles with it.  For example, I become incensed when Charlotte Lucas lectures Lizzie about her plight in having to marry Mr. Collins and how upset she is because it zaps out every ounce of Austen’s commentary on that character, which is that women did that all the time back then and they were perfectly contented to do so.  I am willing to recognize, however, that this would have worked against the passionate, romantic vibe that Wright and co. were setting for the film.

It is due to this example and several others, that, in the opinion of this humble reader and movie-goer, one novel can never have too many adaptations.  As long as said adaptation is bringing something, anything, new to the table, it will always be valid.  I find it fascinating to see what tones directors set or what story arcs the writers decide to focus on.

I get the argument that Hollywood can’t think up any new ideas anymore and I get that you may not want to pay money to see yet another story that you have seen before. But I don’t think I want to live in a world where the possibility of new Harry Potters doesn’t exist, nor one in which a perfect adaptation of my favorite Austen work, Persuasion, can be produced.

What are your thoughts on adaptation? Is enough, enough?  Or do you feel as I do that the more the merrier?

-Ellen

Fangirly Oscars Roundup!

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Oscars-2013I’m feeling pretty good, gang.  Not only did I handily beat Whitney in our predictions, but I also won the Oscar pool at the party I went to last night, correctly guessing 15 of the winners.  Christoph Waltz and Ang Lee threw me, but I was able to pull it off in the end.

There are going to be naysayers out there (because there always are), but I thought this was a pretty good Oscars. Really, the only locks going in were Anne Hathaway and Daniel Day-Lewis, so it was refreshing to have actual anticipation as the winners were announced.

I have yet to read the reviews on Seth MacFarlane’s performance as host, but I thought he did quite well.  As I predicted, he paid much more reverence to the ceremony then people were expecting and possibly hoping.  Yeah, sure.  He had a song about boobs on film, but that is pretty reverent for Seth MacFarlane.  If anything, I was wishing for a smidge more edginess.  Knowing how big of a musical geek he is, I loved the Sound of Music bit.

I am going to give best speech of the night to Daniel Day-Lewis.  This may be unfair because was undoubtedly well-prepared, but he was eloquence and humility aided by a British accent that makes everything sound better.  Ben Affleck gets the runner-up because I am sucker for people saying sweet things about their spouses, which both he and DDL did with great aplomb.

What did you think of the big show?  How was Seth MacFarlane?  Too tame?  Too raunchy?  Any disappointments or surprises?

-Ellen

Fangirly Crush of the Week: Seth MacFarlane

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seth-macfarlane-tuxThis one comes as a special request from Whitney’s mom and because we are such dutiful daughters and nieces, we could never neglect orders from our mothers.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I too jones for Seth MacFarlane. Also, he seemed quite the apropos pick for this week given his hosting duties at this Sunday’s Oscar Ceremony.

I think I can account for my first lusting after Mr. MacFarlane upon seeing him at Comic Con during the Family Guy panel.  I had seen pictures of him and thought him quite handsome, but there was something about seeing him in flesh and blood that really got to me.  I am also ashamed to admit that he seemed like a bit of a jackass and that kind of got me, too.  Yeah, I guess I’m one of those girls.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, the good girl in me likes that he sings like an angel (See below).

I, for one, am quite excited to see what he will bring to the Oscars this year.  He will certainly rock the boat a bit, but you can tell from his myriad of pop culture-related jokes on Family Guy, etc.  that he loves the movies and I think we will see more of that than people are expecting.

–Ellen

Fangirly Investigates: Oscar Predictions!

Posted in Agree to Disagree, Fangirly Investigates, Movies by

Oscar StatueWe’ve had Golden Globes, SAG, PGA, DGA, WGA, and all those other G’s and A’s, but now it’s time for the mack daddy, the big one.  Yep, it’s Oscar, biotches.  All other awards kneel before him. I’m still not a hundred percent sure how he got all the clout, but he did.  Don’t ask stupid questions!

With the big show looming over us this weekend, we thought we would give you our picks for the big five categories.  And the Oscars will go to…

Best Picture

  • Amour
  • Argo
  • Beast of the Southern Wild
  • Django
  • Les Misérables
  • Life of Pi
  • Lincoln
  • Silver Linings Playbook
  • Zero Dark Thirty

Ellen’s Pick:  Argo – I got a chance to see all of the best picture nominees with the exception of Amour, and I’ve got to say, it’s a fairly tight race this year.  Silver Linings Playbook seems to be gaining some ground, but I think that that after Ben Affleck’s snub in the Best Director category, the voters are going to give it to Argo.

Whitney’s Pick:  Beasts of the Southern Wild – Ok, I get that this one is a long shot, but for me is stood out among all the other nominations. The award will probably go to Amour, or Argo, or Zero Dark Thirty, but the last time I checked, none of those other films managed to produce a star half as adorable as Quvenzhané Wallis. That includes you, Ben Affleck!

Best Actor

  • Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
  • Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
  • Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
  • Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
  • Denzel Washington, Flight

Ellen’s Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis – Had Lincoln not come out this year, I would like to think that Bradley Cooper could have taken it this year because he does a really great job at being funny and sympathetic.  But alas, Daniel Day-Lewis reigns supreme and he is THE guaranteed pick of the night.

Whitney’s Pick:  Daniel Day-Lewis – After five nominations and two wins, you would think DDL would give somebody else a chance. We get it, you were beyond awesome in Lincoln, and totally deserved that Golden Globe. I, however, would be more impressed if your character wasn’t the most beloved American president of all time. If you get nominated for playing, say, Lyndon B. Johnson then we’ll talk.

Best Actress

  • Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
  • Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
  • Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
  • Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts Of The Southern Wild
  • Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Ellen’s Pick: Jennifer Lawrence – Gotta give it to my girl, JLaw.  Homegirl’s got a solid chance of winning and rightly so.  Chastain and Watts could prove to be dark horses, but the voters seem to be digging the year’s only quasi-light fare this year.

Whitney’s Pick: Jessica Chastain – Honestly, this is more of a guess then anything else. Wallis and Watts seems pretty unlikely, and of the three remaining nominees, I think Jessica Chastain is all over it.

Best Supporting Actor

  • Alan Arkin, Argo
  • Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
  • Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
  • Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Ellen’s Pick: Robert De Niro – In what I see as the closest race of the night, I’m going to go with who I think the Academy likes the most, which leaves me with ol’ Bobby De Niro.  But, really, don’t hold me to this one because it is anyone’s game at this point.

Whitney’s Pick:  Tommy Lee Jones – Again, this is a wishful thinking pick. In Lincoln, Tommy Lee knew how to steal and scene and wear a wig, two qualities I look for in a man (ask anybody).

Best Supporting Actress

  • Amy Adams, The Master
  • Sally Field, Lincoln
  • Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
  • Helen Hunt, The Sessions
  • Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Ellen’s Pick: Anne Hathaway – This one is hers to lose.  I will be SHOCKED if she doesn’t get it.  Some people are saying Sally Field could prove to be an upset because… she’s Sally Field, but it’s going to Anne Hathaway.

Whitney’s Pick: (Duh) Anne Hathaway- I would be lying if I said I didn’t love ALL of the Supporting Actress noms, but it’s totally going to be Anne. She absolutely deserves it, after the Academy snubbed her twelve years ago for The Princess Diaries. This is your year, girlfriend!

There you have it?  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Who do you WANT to win? Let us know in the comments! And Happy Oscars, everybody!

– Ellen and Whitney

Fanmanly: Archer

Posted in Fanmanly, Sweet Streams, TV by

Archer 3Just to clarify, we don’t think of this “Fanmanly” feature as focusing on entertainment that only appeals to bros, but more focuses on entertainment that is more bro-friendly. That being said, let’s dig into one of my favorite dude-favored shows right now: Archer!

What can I say about Archer other than it is hilarious? As it progresses, I love that this show is similar to Arrested Development in that it totally caters to the fans. “Phrasing” (see below), the danger zone, Archer’s fear of robots, his love for Burt Reynolds, “yuup” and “nooope“, and anything Pam says are all a hundred times funnier when you have watched and loved all of this show.

The voice talent alone should be enough to convince you to watch this show. You have H. Jon Benjamin (Bob’s Burgers) as Archer (who I am ashamedly attracted to and on a related note does anyone else find Benjamin’s voice super sexy?), Jessica Walters (Arrested Development) as his cold but overbearing mother, Aisha Tyler (I remember her from Friends) as the more competent agent at ISIS, Judy Greer (another Arrested alum) as the ditzy, kinky receptionist, Chris Parnell (SNL) as their brainy accountant turned agent, and the unknown to me Amber Nash as the worst HR Director out there.

I will recommend this show with the caveat that it is not for the faint of heart. It is filthy and has its fair share of animated violence, but all that just adds to its…charm? Well, it at least makes for a pretty rollicking, shocking, hilarious, stylistic, spy comedy. Those exist, don’t they?

–Ellen

Archer is available on Netflix Instant

Web Bytes: Season 2 of Burning Love

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video.burninglove.com@8dc4cdc0-fbd9-39f6-aad5-aad6dba7a8a9_FULLIf you watch The Bachelor franchise, as I do, you are well aware that it is ripe for some ribbing.  Enter Burning Love, a web series from Ken Marino and the rest of my favorite comedy personalities.  The first season focused on a fireman who asked they ladies if they would “accept his hose”.  It hit the mark so perfectly that it was scary.

This season looks like it will be no different.  You have the musician who is just there to up his profile, the single dad who constantly bring up his son, the rich jack weed, the hot guy who “isn’t there for the right reasons”, and the guy who is still trying to get over a medical trauma (in this case, being born three months premature).  Yeah, it’s pretty amazing.

Go see for yourself.

– Ellen

Run-On Sentence Reviews: Beautiful Creatures

Posted in Movies, Run-On Sentence Reviews by

-Beautiful-Creatures-2013-Stills-alice-englert-32920346-1300-866I should start off by saying that I read the book so I was predisposed to like the movie to certain extent and I thought it was pretty good even though the lead guy grated on me in the beginning but he eventually endeared himself to me even though him and the girl kiss a LOT verging on uncomfortable but I still thought both of them were WAY better actors than KStew and RPattz  and it actually ended up being a lot funnier than I expected and that’s intentionally funny.

Verdict: As long as you go in fully aware that it is a supernatural teen drama, I say, sure, go see it.

Grade A, Choice Picks: Top Overrated Chick Flicks

Posted in Choice Picks by

Happy Valentine’s Day, boys and girls!  Let’s slam some chick flicks!

This girl loves love.  Most of my books have pink covers, I seek out TV shows with good ships, and my favorite author is Jane Austen.  Yeah.  I’m one of those girls.

The one thing you are going to notice about this list of, in my opinion, overrated chick flicks is that I don’t like my romances to be bogged down with drama.  Isn’t love supposed to be happy and fun? I realize that there are sometimes complications, but come on, people.

With that, let’s dive in.

notting hill5. Notting Hill – I like this one, I do. But… “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”  It ruins it for me.  It really does.  The mood will often strike where I can overlook it, but not as often as it does for others.  Try this instead: Love Actually.  Always Love Actually.  Or Muriel’s Wedding, from across a different pond.

bat4. Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Let it be widely known: I love Audrey Hepburn.  She does an amazing job and I do enjoy this movie.  I just feel like it gets more attention than it is due because Holly Golightly is such an iconic character.  In my opinion, Audrey has done better in better movies.   Try this instead:  Roman Holiday or Sabrina.  Superior performances and  love stories without the weird racist stuff.

SteelMagnolias_19893. Steel Magnolias – Ugh, why do we always have to resort to cancer?  It happens and it is sad, I get it.  Believe me.  There is a lot to love here: Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, etc.  I just don’t enjoy being emotionally manipulated in a blatant manner.  Does this make me a bad person?  I don’t really care.    Try this instead: Fried Green Tomatoes

dirty2. Dirty Dancing – I know what you’re going to say.  “Nobody puts baby, and therefore Dirty Dancing, in a corner.”   Well, I just did.  This is coming from the girl who listened to the soundtrack on repeat from the age of 11 to 13.  This movie needs more “Stay” and “Be My Baby” and less abortion, sickness, and misogyny.  I am a sucker for climatic dance routines, though.   Try this instead: Strictly Ballroom and/or American Graffiti.  The dancing and soundtrack in two movies that are more palatable.

notebook1. The Notebook – Here’s the big one.  I get it, everyone.  You love this movie.  My history with The Notebook is as follows:  I never saw it in theatres and then it was a solid five years before I got around to seeing it on DVD.  Everyone always made SUCH a huge deal when they heard I hadn’t seen it.  “YOU, of all people haven’t seen The Notebook?”  You don’t know my life!  Maybe I went in with the wrong attitude, but I just didn’t get what everyone was getting all in a tizzy about.  The sex scene is hot, I’ll grant you that, but there are other movies to see a shirtless Ryan Gosling.    Try this instead: The Painted Veil or Cocoon.

Agree?  Disagree?  Did I grossly offend you with any of my picks?  Because that’s kind of what I was going for.  Let me know in the comments.

– Ellen

Run-On Sentence Reviews: Warm Bodies

Posted in Movies, Run-On Sentence Reviews by

WarmbodiesIn what I am pretty sure is the first zom-rom-com, this retelling of Romeo and Juliet pairs zombie and human girl and they try to save the human race and it is pretty funny while still maintaining a sweet love story and and it has a really great soundtrack that I have become obsessed with and I’ve seen it twice so…

Verdict: Go See It!

–Ellen

Mixin’ it Up: February’s Playlist

Posted in Mixin' it Up, Music by

justin-timberlake-grammys-2013-performance-watch-video-jay-z-jpg_105011I love my car, I really do.  It is practical and in pretty good condition.  If I had to have one complaint it would be that it came out the year before they started putting iPod jacks in cars, but after they stopped installing tape decks.  This puts me in quite the pickle for what to do about music, because I can’t do radio.

My solution to this quandry has been to make a mix CD (or two, or three) every month, just to keep things fresh.  The mixes are usually a mix of new songs and old favorites that I want to listen to that month.  While it can sometimes be a pain, it is also kind of fun to sit down and reflect on what is jiving with me.  It also ends up being like a sort of musical journal entry, because I can go back to my May 2012 playlist and be taken right back to that month.

I thought I may as well write about some of my top picks for each month, because I like to think I have somewhat good taste and it is certainly eclectic enough to strike a chord with a wide range of people.

“Thrift Shop”  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Feat. Wanz – Yeah, I know.  Me and everyone else on planet earth.  But just in case, this one hasn’t ended up on your radar yet, you need to change that.  I have been listening to this while walking to my office from our parking garage and I have a really hard time not dancing.  I sneak in some moves and let people think I am moving to fight off the cold.

“All For You”  Sister Hazel – Whatever, don’t hate the playa, hate the fact that 90’s music is awesome.  This one came on my Pandora last week and I went and downloaded it right away.  It’s happy.  If you don’t end up singing and/or bouncing along to this song, you need to get over yourself.

“Boys and Buses”   Hayden Panettiere – Something you will quickly learn about me is that my TV/movie viewing dictates a lot of my music discoveries.  If you told me last year that I would be downloading a whole lot of country music, I would have laughed in your face, but that’s just what happens when you watch a whole lot of Nashville.  I enjoy the lyrical simplicity of this one.  Yeah, Juliette.  Boys and buses, DO have a lot in common.

“Brooklyn We Go Hard”   Jay-Z Feat. Santogold – Another download that came about after hearing it on TV, this one coming from the trailer for the upcoming 42 (the Jackie Robinson movie).  Side note:  As an extremely white girl, do I need to feel weird about blasting this in my car and bopping my head like I’m gangsta?

“Silver Springs”   Fleetwood Mac – Confession: this song was a blind spot in my Fleetwood Mac listening until it popped up on the recent covers album, Just Tell Me That You Want Me, being covered by Lykke Li.  While I discovered the song through that cover, nothing is going to compare to Stevie, right?  Right.

“How Come You Don’t Want Me”   Tegan and Sara – I just got this album (Heartthrob) and I am liking it quite a bit. I picked this song specifically because haven’t we all thought this at one point?  (It’s also a really good song).

“I’d Rather Go Blind”   Etta James – I may be weird, but there is nothing sexier to me than old school R&B.  There’s something about it that just…  just… just watch this dance to see what I mean without making things awkward.  This is a perfect of that languid, sexy, vibe that I’m talking about.  I’d rather go deaf than never get to listen to Etta James again.  (See also “Sunday Kind of Love”)

“Shelter From the Storm”   Bob Dylan – Let the record state that I do not like Bob Dylan.  His voice and general attitude usually annoy me, but when I heard this song in Warm Bodies I reluctantly fell in love with it.  There was just something about a zombie playing it to express to his human crush that he would protect her that really got to me.  (Another reason to not like Bob Dylan is that apparently he won’t allow YouTube play his music, but Vimeo got him somehow even if it isn’t the version I like).

“Suit & Tie”  Justin Timberlake Feat. Jay-Z – You guys, I love Justin.  Did you see him at the Grammys?  He is just so… cool!  Then Jay-Z just ambles up and does his thing and then goes and sits back in the audience with Beyonce.  No biggie.  I know that a lot of people are disappointed with this song, but let’s respect it for what it is: a pretty dang infectious hook with JT’s swagger.  I’m all in.

“Yer So Bad”  Tom Petty – I’ve been on a Tom Petty kick lately.  Well, really, for my whole life, but I’ve been digging into some of the B-Sides and this one is my current jam.  That strum in the chorus gets me rocking out every time and I love “Yer so bad, best that I ever had.”  Once you get past all the divorce and suicide, it’s a pretty sweet song.

Whew.  Click on the links and watch some videos (official and fan made).  What is your current jam?  I’m also interested in recommendations.  Aside from all those I have just listed, I am downloaded every song that is featured in Warm Bodies and I am loving all of them.  Check out the music and the movie.

– Ellen

Fangirly Crush of the Week: Jacob Pitts

Posted in Crush of the Week, TV by

jacob-pitts_127112Look, no one can deny that Timothy Olyphant is a fine specimen of a man.  He wears that cowboy hat like nobody’s business and has swagger to boot.

While I still love me some Raylan Givens, my heart belongs to another on Justified, and that is none other than the grossly underused Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Gutterson, played by Jacob Pitts.  Every time he says something on the show, it’s gold and watching him and Raylan work a sting is particularly titillating.  His snarky retorts and mad sniper skills are working in all sorts of ways for this girl.

An maybe, just maybe, if we write about our love for him enough, the showrunners will give him more to do.  I know I speak for both Whitney and myself when I say, Jacob Pitts, we salute you.

Scha-wing.

– Ellen

Get with the Program: Community

Posted in Get with the Program, TV by

community_papersIt’s here!  October 19th is here!  And you know what that means, fellow Greendale peers, Community is back! Whether it will be better than ever is yet to be determined.  This show really is the “little engine that could” of network television.  It has faced management changes, behind the scenes drama, and scheduling snafus, but still it prevails, raising that Greendale anus flag high on Thursday nights once more.

I think it is safe to say that Community is the weirdest little gem on television.  What other shows have episodes in 8 bit and stop motion?  Or alternative timelines and dreamatoriums (besides Fringe)?  But all of that weirdness, self-referential humor, and Joel McHale’s face are what make me love this show so much.

Although, Troy and Abed are perhaps my MOST favorite thing of this show and definitely my favorite friendship on TV.  Individually, their characters are hilarious and deliver my favorite lines, but they deliver pure gold.  Having seen Danny Pudi and Donald Glover together at Comic Con, I think that this is aided by the fact that are actually friends who are great at riffing off each other.

To elaborate my point, I have included one of my favorite scenes from the show below, but before you click that, are you excited for the return of Community? Worried about the lack of Dan Harmon?  Let us know in the comments!

– Ellen