I want the product placement team at Saturn to pat themselves on the back, (as) if they haven't already. Not only did they get their car on one of my favorite shows, but they even got Veronica Mars, herself, to make a planet-related joke about it. Well done, boys and girls. It was an obvious choice for an easy win - not to mention completely in keeping with GM's 'alternative' marketing strategies that they so desperately believe will keep them in the game - but it was sadly one of the most memorable moments in the episode.
What, you think because I'm a die-hard Buffy fan that I will mindlessly follow Joss Whedon's recommendations without question? I guess that's actually a fair assumption. Don't get me wrong. VM was probably the second best thing that came on TV this week, but I like to think my standards are pretty high.
The best thing that came on TV this week was, of course, Battlestar Galactica, which also received mention on Veronica Mars in the form of a geeky college boy using the word 'frack'. This mention confirmed my solid position in their target market, yet I somehow avoided any urge to buy a new car.
Battlestar Galactica, on the other hand, has its own thinly veiled agenda, but challenging an audience to consider the ethical ambiguities of war somehow seems more, I dunno, interesting, valuable, engaging, responsible, monumental, timely, and universal. It's also beautifully shot, very well written, and full of exceptionally engaging and memorable characters, each with his or her own very distinct sense of conscience. And if you like explosions, they blow stuff up pretty good, too.
Chris said if he traveled back in time to tell the original Battlestar Galactica creators that a remake of their show would become a critically acclaimed success, no one would believe him. I say, better yet: Go back five years and tell anyone that the SciFi Network would have a critically acclaimed success. I'm not sure people even believe it now.
I don't go to rock shows much anymore. I like to be certain what I am seeing is of sound quality before I commit. Call me a late adopter, if you will, or maybe just too old to wonder out to shows on any random day of the week. I am, however, a repeat customer when I see something I like, so I was extremely pleased to get out to the Download Festival at the Shoreline to see Beck and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Sure, there was some charm in seeing Beck play at the Charlotte Recreation Center (yes, everyone knew his name there) almost 10 years ago on the Odelay tour and again at the Santa Barbara Amphitheater 5 years ago on the Midnight Vultures tour (where the show had to be done by 10pm due to neighborhood ordinance), but those shows did not have these guys:
This is an actual pre-recorded video, but the puppets were actually there, live, during the show, prominently displayed on the monitors. There was a lovely video made that day at the Shoreline with the puppets that included a little thing they called 'Snakes on a Bus'. Hi-larious, despite how sick I am of the Snakes on a Plane hype.
My favorite part of the show, however, was the jam session with the bowls and glasses. I don't know what I can really say about it. Between their rendition of 'One Foot in the Grave' and puppets miming along with their own glasses, I just about keeled over.
Luckily, I didn't reach keeling status during the previous set. Otherwise, I might've injured myself in the fall:
Can you guess who? I'll give you a hint. There is a Karen missing from this picture. Of course, these guys rocked as usual. Of all the bands I've known and loved, this one is clearly the most successful. Ah, Chiaroscuro, Otis and the Elevators, and Luv Six, had you only come together in Brooklyn instead of Asheville. Kelly, you could be giving Karen a run for her money. Of course, that means you probably would not have played at my wedding reception. So I win on all counts.
