Another reason to love Ricky Gervais

Breaking Bad

Seriously, why have I not been watching this show since it started?!?

S. Darko

I love Donnie Darko but I don't know about this. A sequel called S. Darko, named for Donnie's little sister Samantha, is set to release April 28. I think the only actor from the original is Daveigh Chase in the title character role. And the original director/writer/creator Richard Kelley is not involved. The casting of Elizabeth Berkley, star of Saved By the Bell and Showgirls, doesn't make me any more likely to think it will be good. Neither does the fact that there is a character on the film's IMDB page named "Barfing Girl / Waitress". The spiritual aspect intrigues me though. What do you think? Here's the trailer:

Kings of Leon - why doesn't America get it?

Kings of Leon released their latest album "Only By The Night" released Tuesday. It's an excellent rock record.

They were on Saturday Night Live last weekend and Letterman Tuesday night. They are on the cover of this month's Spin Magazine.

They recently headlined one of the three nights of the legendary Glatonbury festival. The other headliners were Jay Z and The Verve. Other artists included Leonard Cohen, Amy Winehouse, Neil Diamond, and John Mayer. Kings of Leon are superstars in the UK.

And yet when I walked into the Mount Juliet Best Buy on the release day for "Only By The Night"? It wasn't even on the featured new release section at the front of the store.

What's so big about that? Their from Mount Juliet! Talk about prophets without honor in their own country.

New Sixpence EP!

Yes. And they're using a new website to release it: noisetrade.com. NoiseTrade is revolutionary in that it allows musicians to promote their music in much the same way that artists such as Radiohead, Derek Webb, and Nine Inch Nails have recently. You can pay whatever you would like for a CD or you can allow the site to email three friends about it and get it for free.

I'm quite certain KNAPSACKHEROES! will not be using that technique for our debut EP and while it still seems a risky method for more established artists who have gone independent, it is certainly one way to self promote an album without the marketing muscle major labels offer. It's also a good way for Sixpence to reintroduce themselves to an ever-changing market (their last album was released just one year after the birth of the iPod) before they release a full length album next year.

A lot of really cool artists (mostly Nashville bred) are using it. I was excited enough to find out Sixpence's EP was on the site. Imagine my excitement when I realized there was also new music from Waterdeep and Derek Webb! You can also get great music from the likes of Kate York, Jill Phillips, Andy Gullahorn, Matthew Perryman Jones, Umbrella Tree, Sandra McCracken, and others.

See for yourself:

The Return of Sixpence

Got to see Sixpence None the Richer for the first time in several years last night at 3rd and Lindsley. They broke up in 2004 and announced their return earlier this year in a blog on Leigh Nash's MySpace.

It was the first time Daphne and I had seen the band as a married couple so it really took us back to the many, many dates we spent at Sixpence shows.

They did several of my favorites including "A Million Parachutes", written by Matt Slocum with Sam Ashworth, who happened to accompany the band on acoustic guitar. I was also happy that Kate York sang background vocals on a couple songs.

There is new music at Sixpence's MySpace and Leigh told me last night their new EP will release next month. Expect to not see me for a few days after it drops as I crawl under something and disappear into the new songs.

Lost

I really can't believe I haven't blogged about how much of an enormous fan of ABC's hit series Lost I am. I am a total Lost geek. So much so that I shall continue to italicize said Lost each time I write Lost.

If you don't know, Lost tells the story of a large group of survivors living on an island (a weirdo/haunted/pimped-out-by-conspirators island) after a plane crashes on it's way from Australia to America. The show is drama/mystery/action/suspense/etc and there are many reasons to watch: Why did they crash there? How did they get there? Why them? Why do they all have "daddy issues"? Who is in charge here? What/Who is the Dharma Initiative? The list goes on and on.

Daphne and I missed the first season because we were always at church and never remembered to tape it. (No, we do not have DVR or TiVo. We live in a home with a VCR. For those of you who have forgotten that stands for Video Cassette Recorder. ) All of the guys in my band LOVED Lost and told me I needed to see it. So we rented the DVDs from Netflix (Netflix is awesome) and became immediately transfixed and quickly addicted. We once watched 3 discs in one day. I think that's around 12 hours of quality television...in one day.

Why ABC always releases the last season of their shows just a few weeks before the next season begins is a mystery to me. It seems they'd want newbies to get caught up so they could get higher ratings when the new season debuts. Anyway, since it came out so late and we were so wrapped up in season 1 on DVD, we missed several episodes as they aired and decided to wait for DVD for season 2 as well. (This was before I owned an iPod.)

We vowed to see each episode before season 3 debuted and were successful. And then it happened. Wednesday nights meant two religious opportunities for us...church and Lost. We faithfully watched each episode of last year's season and are now anxiously awaiting season 4.

I've been subscribed to the official podcast for a while now. That's been very helpful in understanding what the heck is going on with the show. Another thing that helps is the crazy extra-curricular opportunities the producers of Lost offer...

In a day of YouTube, DVDs, and downloads ABC was very smart to use the power of the internet to attract fans. There are sites for the airline, the organization that (maybe) funded research on the island (spoiler alert: don't go to that link if you want to do the Rachel Blake thing below...and you should), the crazy organization that did research on the island, and the list goes on and on.

I got totally wrapped up in "The Lost Experience" (go search Rachel Blake on YouTube and have fun). It not only provided insight into the show, but like most of these sites it had a complete subplot.

And now, I am relieved to find that I won't have to buy a video game console. I can play Lost: The Video Game on my PC when it debuts later this year. (My birthday and Christmas are on the way, people). Check the trailer below.

You have plenty of time to get caught up if you've never seen the show. Season 4 debuts in February on 2008 so that they can show all of the episodes in a row with no repeats (like 24).

I recently purchased a book called Lost: A Search for Meaning by Christian Piatt, a look at the show from a Christian perspective. Depending on my touring schedule next year I may teach a short-term Sunday school class on Lost when season 4 debuts. I could go into that but this blog is already too freaking long.

Mute Math

I've seen hundreds of concerts over the past 15-20 years and quite honestly I have never, ever seen a better concert than Mute Math. Seriously. Ever.

I've seen them twice and I said that after the first concert I saw by them. Somehow they put on an even better show that night.

Check them out this Friday night on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live.

You can also see videos at their YouTube and hear music at their MySpace.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

I've lamented on many occasions the lack of quality programming on television and the larger lack of well represented Christians. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip provides both. But despite its all-star cast and stellar writing from West Wing mastermind Aaron Sorkin, Studio 60 is in danger of camcelation by the numbskulls at NBC.

This is not the first show about a show to come around (Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore, Murphy Brown, The Ben Stiller Show), but it's one of the few times I've seen it really work. It's based on a Saturday Night Live premise and the writing makes me wish Sorkin would go to work for SNL.

Studio 60's breakout character is a Christian actress played by Sarah Paulson. Her character, loosely based on Sorkin's real-life girlfriend and Christian actress Kristin Chenoweth, is one of the finest portrayals of a Christian I have seen on network television. A Christian who is funny? What? Compare that to the new character--or should I say idiotic Christian stereotype--played by Busy Philipps on ER.

Watch the show tonight at 10 eastern/9 central on NBC. Then go here to sign a petition to keep it on the air.

"Oh boy" part 2

Well, Sam just leapt into the body of a woman in a poodle skirt. He's getting ready to ride off to the local beauty pageant he so deserves to win. Oh boy. Guess I have to watch tomorrow to see how he pulls that off.

Memory served incorrect. Stephen King was not in the episode. However, a boy named Stevie King was, and Sam inadvertently gave little Stevie some ideas that would later scare up a lot of money for Stevie-from an evil car named Christine to flying knives.

Good episode.

"Oh boy."

Okay, I'm a night owl. It's clear that's true.

And my new habit? Watching re-runs of Quantum Leap every night at 1 a.m. on Sci-Fi.

I loved that show and should probably get the DVDs. If you don't remember the show, Dr. Sam Beckett, played by Scott Backula, leaps from episode to episode into the body of a different person (both male and female - and it's especially funny to see him in drag) who lived during his lifetime in order to right wrongs done throughout that part of history.

At the end of each episode he leaps into the next character and, many times, immediately encounters their problems - always leaving Sam plenty reason to say/scream/whisper/utter his signature line, "Oh boy." And of course the "Oh boy" lends to the addictive quality of the show.

Well, Halloween can officially begin for me. One of my favorite episodes is on right now. Sam leaps into the body of a horror novelist (think Stephen King) whose life is being turned upside down by mysterious deaths and murders on Halloween day.

I can't remember how it ends (except that Stephen King actually shows up)...so, I'm going to stop typing and start watching. And then maybe I'll go to bed.