Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of August 27, 2016

August 17, 2016

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Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart, and then I rearrange that top 25 based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. twenty one pilots – “Heathens”
2. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
3. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons With Logic, Ty Dolla $ign ft. X Ambassadors – “Sucker for Pain”
4. twenty one pilots – “Stressed Out”
5. Coldplay – “Hymn for the Weekend”
6. X Ambassadors – “Unsteady”
7. Panic! at the Disco – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
8. Disturbed – “The Sound of Silence”
9. Ben Rector – “Brand New”
10. The Lumineers – “Ophelia”
11. Fitz and the Tantrums – “HandClap”
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Dark Necessities”
13. blink-182 – “Bored to Death”
14. Kaleo – “Way Down We Go”
15. Bishop Briggs – “River”
16. Skillet – “Feel Invincible”
17. The 1975 – “The Sound”
18. Bastille – “Good Grief”
19. Cage the Elephant – “Trouble”
20. Beck – “Wow”
21. Action Bronson, Mark Ronson & Dan Auerbach – “Standing in the Rain”
22. Panic! at the Disco – “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time”
23. Green Day – “Bang Bang”
24. Grimes – “Medieval Warfare”
25. BANKS – “Gemini Feed”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. River
2. Gemini Feed
3. Wow
4. Way Down We Go
5. The Sound
6. Unsteady
7. Dark Necessities
8. Standing in the Rain
9. Ride
10. Trouble
11. Good Grief
12. Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time
13. Medieval Warfare
14. Ophelia
15. Stressed Out
16. Bang Bang
17. Hymn for the Weekend
18. Heathens
19. Feel Invincible
20. Sucker for Pain
21. The Sound of Silence
22. Bohemian Rhapsody
23. HandClap
24. Brand New
25. Bored to Death

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of August 27, 2016

August 17, 2016

jmunney Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot 100, Music , , , Leave a comment

Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot 100, and then I rearrange the top 20 based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Sia ft. Sean Paul – “Cheap Thrills”
2. Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber and MØ – “Cold Water”
3. Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For”
4. twenty one pilots – “Heathens”
5. Drake ft. WizKid and Kyla – “One Dance”
6. The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – “Closer”
7. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
8. The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down”
9. Justin Timberlake – “Can’t Stop the Feeling”
10. Rihanna – “Needed Me”
11. Adele – “Send My Love (to Your New Lover)”
12. DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber – “Let Me Love You”
13. Ariana Grande – “Into You”
14. Shawn Mendes – “Treat You Better”
15. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, & Imagine Dragons with Logic, Ty Dolla $ign ft. X Ambassadors – “Sucker for Pain”
16. Desiigner – “Panda”
17. Drake ft. Rihanna – “Too Good”
18. DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “For Free”
19. Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez – “We Don’t Talk Anymore”
20. Meghan Trainor – “Me Too”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Cheap Thrills
2. Needed Me
3. Into You
4. Cold Water
5. Ride
6. Closer
7. Let Me Love You
8. Send My Love (to Your New Lover)
9. Don’t Let Me Down
10. Can’t Stop the Feeling!
11. Too Good
12. One Dance
13. This Is What You Came For
14. Me Too
15. We Don’t Talk Anymore
16. Heathens
17. Panda
18. For Free
19. Sucker for Pain
20. Treat You Better

This Is a Movie Review: Café Society

August 15, 2016

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews Leave a comment

Cafe-Society

Latter-day Woody Allen films have a tendency to use narration as a crutch to make their themes obvious and their plots overly clear. But somehow the voiceover of Café Society (courtesy of Allen himself) won me over. As the story moves away from the glitz of 1930s Hollywood towards the gangster-run business of New York, the compressed approach that results from the heavy narration allows the deadly violence to work as comedy. Indeed, Café Society works best when it focuses on Woody’s specialty of nihilist existentialism. (A conversation about fear of death, or lack thereof, is a highlight.) And with Jesse Eisenberg managing the best Woody Allen impression of any Woody avatar, the connections to the classics are enough to get by.

I give Café Society a B- in Jewish Philosophy 201.

 

This Is a Movie Review: Florence Foster Jenkins

August 15, 2016

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews Leave a comment

Meryl_Streep_Florence

It is hard to pin down Florence Foster Jenkins the film. Is it inspirational biopic, goofball comedy, relationship drama, tragedy, or even horror? Florence Foster Jenkins the woman is just as tricky. The true story of a tone-deaf singer who was celebrated as much as she was mocked is indeed a tonal challenge, and the result is confusing and fascinating in equal measure. This is hardly a surprise, as director Stephen Frears has a knack for transforming what initially seems like a simple prestige picture into something subtly challenging.

The performances embody the multifaceted whole. Meryl Streep alternately plays Jenkins as guileless and take-charge. It might be among her best performances, but it is so unusual for her that I can’t say for sure. As Jenkins’ husband, Hugh Grant is intensely loyal and intensely conflicted. And Simon Helberg (relishing the freedom from the stereotype-heavy Big Bang Theory) is a tic-filled delight as Jenkins’ pianist, won over by her charms despite the laughs he holds back and the worries for his reputation. Your reaction to her is likely to be just as mixed, in a good way.

I give Florence Foster Jenkins a hearty round of applause.

What Won TV? – August 7-August 13, 2016

August 14, 2016

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In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

mr_robot_sitcom

Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver #Investifarted
Monday – UnREAL
Tuesday – Not Safe with Nikki Glaser
Wednesday – I have no trouble imagining a world gone insane with Mr. Robot
Thursday – Olympics: the Simones have it
Friday – Olympics: all 800m of Katie Ledecky
Saturday – Olympics, particularly Monica Puig for Puerto Rico

katie ledecky 800m freestyle

Billboard Hot Rock Songs – Week of August 20, 2016

August 11, 2016

jmunney Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot Rock Songs, Music , , , Leave a comment

Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart, and then I rearrange that top 25 based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
2. twenty one pilots – “Heathens”
3. twenty one pilots – “Stressed Out”
4. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, & Imagine Dragons with Logic, Ty Dolla $ign, & X Ambassadors – “Sucker for Pain”
5. Coldplay – “Hymn for the Weekend”
6. X Ambassadors – “Unsteady”
7. Ben Rector – “Brand New”
8. Disturbed – “The Sound of Silence”
9. The Lumineers – “Ophelia”
10. Fitz and the Tantrums – “HandClap”
11. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Dark Necessities”
12. blink-182 – “Bored to Death”
13. Kaleo – “Way Down We Go”
14. Bishop Briggs – “River”
15. AURORA – “I Went Too Far”
16. The 1975 – “The Sound”
17. Bastille – “Good Grief”
18. Beck – “Wow”
19. Skillet – “Feel Invincible”
20. Cage the Elephant – “Trouble”
21. Panic! at the Disco – “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time”
22. The 1975 – “Somebody Else”
23. The Head and the Heart – “All We Ever Knew”
24. Phantogram – “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore”
25. Volbeat – “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. You Don’t Get Me High Anymore
2. River
3. Wow
4. Way Down We Go
5. The Sound
6. Unsteady
7. Dark Necessities
8. Somebody Else
9. Ride
10. Trouble
11. Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time
12. Good Grief
13. Ophelia
14. Stressed Out
15. The Devil’s Bleeding Crown
16. All We Ever Knew
17. Hymn for the Weekend
18. Heathens
19. I Went Too Far
20. Feel Invincible
21. Sucker for Pain
22. The Sound of Silence
23. HandClap
24. Brand New
25. Bored to Death

Billboard Hot 20 – Week of August 20, 2016

August 11, 2016

jmunney Billboard Charts, Billboard Hot 100, Music , , , Leave a comment

Each week, I check out the Billboard Hot 100, and then I rearrange the top 20 based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Sia ft. Sean Paul – “Cheap Thrills”
2. Drake ft. WizKid and Kyla – “One Dance”
3. Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For”
4. Justin Timberlake – “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
5. Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber and MØ – “Cold Water”
6. The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down”
7. twenty one pilots – “Ride”
8. Rihanna – “Needed Me”
9. The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – “Closer”
10. Adele – “Send My Love (to Your New Lover)”
11. twenty one pilots – “Heathens”
12. Desiigner – “Panda”
13. DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “For Free”
14. Meghan Trainor – “Me Too”
15. Kent Jones – “Don’t Mind”
16. Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Work From Home”
17. P!nk – “Just Like Fire”
18. Shawn Mendes – “Treat You Better”
19. Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez – “We Don’t Talk Anymore”
20. Drake ft. Rihanna – “Too Good”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Cheap Thrills
2. Work From Home
3. Needed Me
4. Ride
5. Closer
6. Cold Water
7. Send My Love (to Your New Lover)
8. Don’t Let Me Down
9. Can’t Stop the Feeling!
10. Too Good
11. One Dance
12. We Don’t Talk Anymore
13. This Is What You Came For
14. Me Too
15. Heathens
16. Panda
17. For Free
18. Treat You Better
19. Just Like Fire
20. Don’t Mind

What Won TV? – July 31-August 6, 2016

August 7, 2016

jmunney Television, What Won TV? , , , , , , , Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

eric-andre-show-ti

Sunday – The Night Of
Monday – Angie Tribeca
Tuesday – Whose Line is it Anyway?
Wednesday – Mr. Robot, because Elliot and Angela finally had a chance this season to say that they miss each other
Thursday – Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions Encore Presentation
Friday – The Eric Andre Show
Saturday – Olympics: Katinka Hosszu is my favorite champ so far.

This Is a Movie Review: Nerve

August 5, 2016

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews 1 Comment

Nerve-movie

So many reviews of Nerve have compared the titular online reality game to Pokémon GO, and rightly so. Rarely does such a perfect real-world analogue serendipitously appear, and with such uncanny timing to boot. Obviously, the team behind Nerve could not have been unaware of the latest augmented reality sensation during production, but they end up so close to it because they are thoroughly attuned to the aesthetics of all the modern major online channels.

As a sort of mixed media collage, Nerve is somehow both disorienting and natural, which is how the adoption of new technology goes. The players of Nerve must film themselves performing their dares on their cell phones, which is both awkward (often dangerously so) and second nature.

The film zips along with just enough believability until its conclusion, when everyone suddenly develops superpowers. But while it falters plot-wise, it remains thematically strong (a sly moment of mass implication hits hard). This is an exaggerated world, but it feels unnervingly plausible. While Nerve goes down easy, it does not really let anyone off the hook.

I give Nerve $50,000, plus a $1,000 bonus for not bailing when it probably should have.

Watch And/Or Listen to This: Phantogram’s “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore”

August 5, 2016

jmunney Music, Music Videos, Watch And/Or Listen to This , Leave a comment

This is why I follow the Billboard charts.

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