No, it's not 90210...

Did anyone out there know that '90's pop darlings, the Gin Blossoms, had a new album out? (It actually came out in August 2006, so I am totally behind on this one.) I thought they had gone to the historical abyss that swallowed up rock greats, Flickerstick, Candlebox, and the good version of REM, but it's not so.

The Gins' latest single, "Long Time Gone", sounds just like the upbeat, peppy fluff that they were known for back when I was in college. So for those of us that miss that old, time '90's sound, this alert's for you. If you're dying for a live fix of these guys, they are coming to a racetrack or casino near you in the next few months.

Naturally, once I was reminded of my college music indiscretions, I had to look up 'Stick and 'Box (mentioned above.)

It seems that Flickerstick has been touring regularly, and they have a live album coming out soon called "Live from Atlanta." If you have to pick a place to rock out from, that is really the best choice possible. Here's hoping that VH1 resurrects the Bands on the Run series that made those Dallas boys famous.

And of course, Candlebox has also been busy. They have also been touring heftily, and they have a live DVD coming out that was filmed in Seattle last September. I guess that's an ok music place...



As for the REM guys, I couldn't find anything on them. Ahem. But '70's rockers, America, have a new greatest hits album out called "Here and Now." You know you want it.

Muslim take on 24

My cousin Anirban sent this link to me today... thought it was worth sharing, in light of my last post.

Or you can cut and paste the following:
http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=MjlmMTQzN2IxMTFlZTFlNzZiZmEzMjEzY2I2MDkzOWE

Jack's back

So the new season of 24 started last weekend on Fox. Is anyone else annoyed by the fact that Kal Penn (Pictured below. Movie credits include: Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle) played the seemingly-nice-brown-teenaged-terrorist-next-door? I am thrilled that the guy is getting lots of work, and frankly, I like seeing Injuns represented in American TV and film. But, I am a little worried that brown people on TV are being portrayed mostly as convenience shop owners or terrorists, not so much as the educated professionals that many of us are.

(Sendhil Ramamurthy, pictured above, plays scientist Mohinder Suresh on Heroes.) Kudos to NBC's Heroes for giving the Indian characters prominent parts as educated scientists. (Nevermind that everyone thinks the father was nuts and the son is slowly going down the same road to Fruitcakeville.)

But back to 24, the last few "Muslim-based terrorism" seasons at least had Kiefer Sutherland giving a disclaimer that most Muslims are not like the ones portrayed in the show. So far, this season, there were no disclaimers, and moreover, the violence and characterizations this season are more stereotypical than usual. Are we now supposed to be suspect of all brown people?

On a sidenote, I had anticipated a much more elaborate break-out for Jack from the Chinese prison. The anticlimactic "escape" was kind of a cop-out. Couldn't the writers come up with something a little less lame?
(Someone at Fox, please bring the Allstate President back. Dennis Haysbert, pictured right, played President Palmer for three seasons on 24.)

Photos courtesy of Fox Broadcasting, MGM Studios, Maury Phillips/WireImage.com, and CBS Broadcasting.

Colbert on Bollywood

This one speaks for itself.

Big Apple Highlight Reel

Daily Show photos courtesy of Comedy Central.

The last eight days in New York were a whirlwind. We went to museums, art galleries, restaurants, shows, libraries, shops, and theaters. We went to a lot of restaurants and had wonderful three course meals. We met writers and editors from the New York Times, the New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, and Slate just to name a few. We went to jazz at Lincoln Center, checked out their Performing Arts library, watched Zubin Mehta conduct the New York Philharmonic, and saw a rehearsal of the New York City Ballet.

Photo courtesy of The Drowsy Chaperone.

We also went to a couple of shows - A Chorus Line, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Tom Stoppard's The Voyage, starring Ethan Hawke, Billy Crudup, Amy Irving, and Jennifer Ehle. (Tickets to the Stoppard show are apparently the hottest tickets in town right now.)

More highlights included an afternoon in Harlem where we visited the Studio Museum and ate soul food, family style, at Sylvia's. Did I mention the two lunches at the famed Algonquin where literary giants of the 1950s frequently hung out?



On the last night, we went to a taping of the Daily Show. Afterwards, we met Steve Bodow, the show's head writer, and Jon Stewart chatted briefly with us as well. (As if he needs an introduction.)


We walked through Central Park, bought "Gucci" bags in Chinatown, and revelled in the freakish 70 degree weather that the city gods bestowed upon us for most of the trip. We window shopped on 5th Avenue, and we rushed around on the subway. (I'm sure I'm leaving many things out... but I'll post more specific reviews soon.) We did more in one week than most New Yorkers do in a year, and as you might guess, it was an amazing experience.