Neil Diamond's latest album, Home Before Dark, is out today. It's his 189th album (rough estimate) and his second collaboration with Beastie Boys producer Rick Rubin. It's also the reason we got to see him on "American Idol" (and had to suffer through the contestants' "interpretations" of his songs).
Since there's so much to say about the man who has been making music for close to 50 years, we present Neil Diamond A-Z.
Yeah, we get it. The Monitor was much more interested to learn that Def Leppard has a new disc out today. And then we looked at the Songs From the Sparkle Loungetracklist. Surely this is another (this time terribly ill-conceived) covers album, we thought. "Come Undone"? "Only the Good Die Young"? "Tomorrow"?
Nope, turns out the music is all new and all original. Which is great and all, but now we feel cheated. Now we may never hear what Lep would do with a classic "Annie" show tune.
Imagine along with us, won't you? Here's the tracklist, and our guess on its source material:
By this time next week, pretty much every show that's going to come back this season will have returned. That's a lot of long-awaited TV. Since we're so super excited that we can't think of much else, The Monitor presents TV Week.
You may have already read about "Friday Night Lights" in some TV critic's list of "The Best Shows You're Not Watching" or heard about its awards and nominations from the Writer's Guild and American Film Institute. So instead of reiterating the praises of the experts, The Monitor has compiled a list of the top five fan recommendations for Friday Night Lights, in honor of today's Season Two DVD release, from forums, message boards and comment threads.
"Last night I put in my Season 1 dvd and ended up watching the first four episodes, sitting in my bed, wiping tears away occasionally. No matter how many times I watch these episodes, they still take my breath away." — angiekins at TelevisionWithoutPity.com
"This show owns me. From the first moment with Lorraine telling Matt that she "liked (her) Jimmy Deans tender" to the last shot of Smash breaking down in the locker room, this show grabbed me by the throat and never let go. I'm not a praying woman, but I'd gladly learn to pray if I thought it'd have any impact at all on the writer's strike. This is what good television looks like — and more importantly — this is what good television feels like."
— skeskali at TelevisionWithoutPity.com
We can't tell you anything about E=MC2 that Mariah wouldn't say better herself (track by track!), so instead we'll focus on her record breaking hits. Because if you're anything like The Monitor, you could use a refresher on that Hot 18.
Take a trip back with the whole batch, song by song, along with the month that each first hit #1.
Although "There Will Be Blood" will surely drink its milkshake (we still can't believe that scene isn't supposed to be funny), our top new release pick this week is "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story." For one thing, it's funny on purpose. And The Monitor thinks the movie deserves more shine than it got in theaters, especially considering all the really funny — and really good — music included.
The verdict is in on R.E.M.'s new album, Accelerate, and critics agree that it's the best thing that the band has done in years.
In honor of Accelerate's release (it's in stores today), here is The Monitor's top five favorite R.E.M. musical highlights ... and we're not talking "Losing My Religion." Enjoy.
1. "Perfect Circle" Unplugged
2. "Don't Go Back to Rockville" (Mike Mills solo ... on "Regis and Kathie Lee")
3. "All I Have to Do Is Dream"
4. "Nightswimming" live
5. "Furry Happy Monsters" on Sesame Street
What's your favorite R.E.M. moment? Tell us all about it.
Counting Crows' latest album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings hit stores
today. Let's count with them, shall we? Here's the band by the numbers:
1: Number of the times they played NYC's the Academy (their first New York show, opening for Suede, October 15, 1993).
2: Number of "Friends" stars that Crows singer Adam Duritz has dated: Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox.
3: Number of hugely significant historical figures name-checked in song titles: "Einstein on the Beach," "Jumping Jesus," "When I Dream of Michaelangelo."
4: Number of Apple store gigs the band is playing to promote their newest LP.
5: Number of studio albums that band has put out. Count with me: August and Everything After, Recovering the Satellites, This Desert Life, Hard Candy, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings.
6: Number of years since the band's last album (2002's Hard Candy).
It's a huge day for DVD releases, with major blockbusters, Oscar nominees and inspiring exercises in total weirdness all in stores now.
Here's The Monitor's top five new release picks, each one accompanied by its trailer, Tomatometer rating and an alternate pick (in the rare case that you can't get your hands on it).
In the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day, The Monitor will be honoring pop culture's most venerable figures with Patron Saints Week.
One might guess that Irishman Pat O'Brien would be the patron saint of actresses (nope, that's Pelagia the Penitent, a.k.a. "The Beardless Hermit") or maybe of telephones (wrong again, that's Clare of Assisi) but in fact, The Monitor has exclusively learned that Pat O'Brien is the patron saint of new releases.
His tireless work on "Access Hollywood" and "The Insider With Pat O'Brien" has exposed the plight of straight-to-DVD gems from the "American Pie" and "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" franchises. His personal sacrifice includes repeated stints in rehab. (His AA sponsor knows him only as The Mustachioed Hermit.) As of March 5, Page Six was reporting that O'Brien's spot on "The Insider" would be permanently taken over by ... Donny Osmond.
This year's Oscars reached a record-low TV audience. Is it because the nominations didn't include enough movies that people had been moved to go out and see? Maybe.
And today, the Tuesday after the Oscars, the list of new DVD releases doesn't include a single film nominated for a major Academy Award. Many are still in theaters, but if you insist on staying home, you can hold out for best picture winner "No Country For Old Men" (March 11) and nominees "Atonement" (March 18), "Juno" (April 15) and "There Will Be Blood" (no release date yet). Or you could see "Michael Clayton" right now.
Here's a list of five nominated films that have already surfaced on DVD, each with one good reason to watch at home, even if you skipped it the first time around.
"Michael Clayton" Won: Best Supporting Actress At-Home Bonus: Watch alone and you can rewind to work out the twisty bits without anyone knowing.
"La vie en rose" Won: Best Actress At-home bonus: Sing along with Edith! (Try that at the theater and see what happens.)
"American Gangster" Lost: Best Supporting Actress At-home bonus: Three discs is a lot of content. That pause button will come in handy.
"Eastern Promises" Lost: Best Actor At-home bonus: You control the naked fight scene. Want to see it in slow-mo? Go for it.
It's Tuesday, which brings new music and DVDs to stores. The day after a holiday is rarely a hot one for new releases, but there is one heavy-hitter out: Kidz Bop 13. Mark The Monitor's words, no other new release will top it on the Billboard albums chart. We're sure of it because, for whatever reason, cleaned-up versions of popular songs performed by a sound-alike and boosted by a chorus of little kids is a big seller.
We could point out the questionable tracklist of the latest installment (Do you want your kid singing about being suicidal — Oh, OK, they sub "in denial," nice one — or dropping the "a" from the word "apologize"?), but we'll let "Kidz Bop" speak for itself. See if you can spot the parody (Full disclosure: Outside of this context, it's pretty hard. I admit to being totally fooled.)
"Crazy"
"Move Along"
"Baby Got Back"
"Since U Been Gone"
"Chicken Noodle Soup"
Have a favorite Kidz Bop song? Want to share your own parody? Tell us!
Michael Jackson's Thriller celebrates its recent 25th anniversary with a new release out today, featuring updated versions of the tracks remixed and performed by Kanye West, Will.I.Am, Akon and Fergie. Because what better way to prove that an album is timeless than to change it? Uh, we don't understand. And what's with this new, not-improved cover? Who knows?
Despite the questionable new tracks and artwork, there's an argument to be made to revisit Thriller, even for those of you who left your affection for the album back on vinyl in '82. Here's nine reasons to pretend the past 25 years of weirdness never happened, just for 40 minutes or so:
Spreading the word about preserving natural resources and protecting the planet is good, right? But musicians frequently come under fire for talking the talk without walking the walk, playing big shows to raise public awareness of global warming — and traveling to the gigs on gas-guzzling private jets.
Jack Johnson is looking to change some of that with his latest album, Sleep Through the Static, which hit stores today. Johnson recorded the disc at his eco-friendly studio run on solar power and built from recycled materials. Whether you like his music or not, Johnson has set the bar for eco-conscious musicians. Let's see who steps up.
Tuesdays bring new DVDs and CDs to stores, and today "Daddy Day Camp" is among the new DVD releases. That means that those of us who missed it in theaters can see what all the fuss is over the worst-reviewed film of 2007 (at least according to RottenTomatoes.com). But 2007 must have been a pretty decent year for films if the worst-reviewed movie got a whole 1%.
Here's a list of the five movies that did worse (That's a 00% rating, in RT terms. Ouch.) over the last five years:
Super Tuesday this is not. It's January and Monday was a holiday, which all adds up to an unexciting week for new releases. There isn't much out we can tell you that you don't already know — if you're apt to buy the Cat Power or Big Noyd records the first week they are available, you already know there are new Cat Power and Big Noyd records out today.
But we did see a handful of new discs worth highlighting. While many would argue that the art of the album cover is dying out in the digital age, some are still keeping it very much alive.
Here's The Monitor's five favorite covers new in stores this week.
OK, so this was released 50 years ago, but it's the first day on CD in stereo. The pose, the flowers, the film and stage icon as a vocal ingenue — glorious.
They are named after a mosquito-borne illness and make music that mixes Cambodian pop and psychedelic rock. Can't you just tell all of that from this cover?
Can't snag a copy of "The Ten" at your local video store? Are the Netflix queues for "Mr. Woodcock" and "Good Luck Chuck" too long? (Really?) Here's a list of five new DVDs in stores today that you probably can get your hands on — ranging from the "who knew this had even been made?" romantic comedies to hours of footage of frolicking dogs.
"Wedding Daze"
The cover has almost the same typeface as "Wedding Crashers" (red = comedy!) and co-stars the wacky redhead from "Wedding Crashers." It's practically a sequel! Of course, Jason Biggs is no Vince Vaughn ... and Rob Corddry is no Owen Wilson.
"Love Lies Bleeding"
We don't know anything about this other than it stars some mean looking dudes, a stupid young couple and Christian Slater as an angry guy named Pollen. But isn't that enough?
Artists and labels try new ways to stay in the game, but just today, more than 500 new albums and reissues were released. Could you name even five off the top of your head? Neither could we.
In an effort to highlight some potentially interesting music (and to totally judge a book by its cover) here's a list of 10 albums released today with titles that make us want to know more:
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