CREDIT: Music Video Screenshots
According to my 2021 Spotify Wrapped, my top musical moods of the year were “bold” and “ecstatic.” So let’s call these the Best Bold & Ecstatic Songs of 2021.
jmunney’s Favorite Songs of 2021
January 20, 2022
Best of 2021, Best of Music 2021, Music Aly & AJ, Best of 2021, Cat Power, Charli XCX, Cold War Kids, Doja Cat, Halsey, Lil Nas X, Meg Myers, Modest Mouse, Olivia Rodrigo, Royal Blood, Sigrid, Tori Kelly, tune-yards, twenty one pilots, Willow, X Ambassadors Leave a comment
Jeff’s Wacky SNL Review: Paul Rudd/No Musical Guest
December 19, 2021
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Charli XCX, Paul Rudd, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 47, SNL, SNL Season 47 1 Comment
SNL: Charli XCX, Paul Rudd, Ego Nwodim (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
This Paul Rudd-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live was supposed to feature Charli XCX as the musical guest, but instead there was no musical guest. (Although Charli did show up in a pre-recorded sketch!) Changes were made at the last minute, but the show had to go on, so it did go on! There were some new bits, but several of the sketches were classic Christmas-themed selections, along with new intros from Rudd and/or Tina Fey, Kenan Thompson, and Tom Hanks.
Rudd was in town presumably to promote his new flick Ghostbusters: Afterlife (which also features some SNL alums in its cast) and his new Apple TV+ show The Shrink Next Door (which also co-stars an SNL alum). But I also must mention that he has a recurring voice gig on the terrific new Netflix show Saturday Morning All Star Hits!, which stars and was co-created by current SNL cast member Kyle Mooney.
In the spirit of persevering, I will stick with the reviewing plan I had for this episode, which was to list the sketches in order from least Christmassy to most Christmassy. I’ve determined this according to the number of times we hear spoken in the sketch the word “Christmas” (or its derivatives, like “Christmassy,” “Christmastime,” etc.). I have included in the counts those Christmases spoken in the intros.
Best Musical Artists of the 2010s
June 25, 2020
Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Music Adele, Ariana Grande, Beck, Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Beyoncé, Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, Childish Gambino, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Hans Zimmer, Janelle Monáe, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Kendrick Lamar, Kesha, Lady GaGa, Lana del Rey, Lizzo, Lorde, Major Lazer, Miguel, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Sia, St. Vincent, Tame Impala, Taylor Swift, Tegan and Sara, The Black Keys, The Weeknd, Tove Lo, Vampire Weekend, Weird Al Yankovic 1 Comment
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots
One more list! One more list!
My Best of the 2010s list-making journey has finally come to a close! (Or has it? … For now, it has at least. The future will come as it may, and it may just surprise you, and me.) All this week, I’ve been posting my rankings of a few categories that I was inspired to put together after submitting them to a Best of the 2010s polls that I’m participating in with some of my fellow cultural aficionados. To wrap it all up, I guide you along to the realm of music and lyrics, as I present the Best Musical Artists of the 2010s.
My criteria was similar to that of my choices for Best Film Directors. I considered a combination of how much I enjoyed their musical output as well as how much – and how well – they influenced the industry at large.
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 5/15/20
May 15, 2020
Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television All Visible Objects, Brec Bassinger, Celebrity Escape Room, Charli XCX, Community, DC's Stargirl, Graduate Together, Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020, Holey Moley, How I'm Feeling Now, Jack Black, Joel McHale, Luke Wilson, Moby, Red Nose Day, Stargirl, To Tell the Truth Leave a comment
CREDIT: The CW/YouTube Screenshot
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
-Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 (May 16 on Various Networks)
–DC’s Stargirl Series Premiere (May 18 on DC Universe and May 19 on The CW) – Starring Brec Bassinger as Stargirl; Luke Wilson and Joel McHale also appear.
–Community Cast Reunion Table Read and Q+A (May 18 on YouTube)
–Celebrity Escape Room (May 21 on NBC) – A Red Nose Day celeb goof-off hosted by Jack Black
–Holey Moley II: The Sequel Premiere (May 21 on ABC) – Mini-golf is so hot right now.
–To Tell the Truth Season Premiere (May 21 on ABC)
Music
-Charli XCX, How I’m Feeling Now
-Moby, All Visible Objects
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 9/13/19
September 13, 2019
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television Alec Baldwin, Charli, Charli XCX, Comedy Central Roast, Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin, Conan, Conan Without Borders, Conan Without Borders Ghana, Country Music, Hustler, Ken Burns, Ken Burns' Country Music, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, The Masked Singer, Undone Leave a comment
CREDIT: Amazon Prime Video/YouTube Screenshot
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Hustlers (Theatrically Nationwide)
TV
–Undone Season 1 (September 13 on Amazon Prime) – A new animated wonder from BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg.
-Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin (September 15 on Comedy Central)
-Ken Burns’ Country Music (Premieres September 15 on PBS)
–The Masked Singer: Super Sneak Peek (September 15 on FOX) – There’s an “Egg” costume this season.
–CONAN Without Borders: Ghana (September 17 on TBS) Looks like this has been rescheduled!
Music
-Charli XCX, Charli – One of today’s best pop hitmakers.
9 Best Music Videos of 2015
February 21, 2016
Best of 2015, Best of Music 2015, Music, Music Videos Calvin Harris, Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, Disclosure, Jack Garratt, Missy Elliott, The Weeknd, Wolf Alice Leave a comment
I almost exclusively picked dance videos this year. Go figure.
1. Missy Elliott ft. Pharrell, “WTF” [Director: Dave Meyers] – If more music videos were reminiscent of Being John Malkovich, this would have been a harder decision.
SNL Recap December 13, 2014: Martin Freeman/Charli XCX
December 15, 2014
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Charli XCX, Martin Freeman, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 40, SNL, SNL Season 40 Leave a comment
SNL: Charli XCX, Martin Freeman, Kenan Thompson (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
This review was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2014.
It was the British invasion on the penultimate 2014 episode of “SNL,” with first-time host Martin Freeman and first-time musical guest Charli XCX. It is not every week that “SNL” has the perfect actor to play nebbishy scamps, so this episode took every opportunity it could to fit Freeman into his wheelhouse. Indeed, at least regarding the host, this was one of the most well-cast episodes of “SNL” in a while. Meanwhile, the show in general continued its Season 40 pattern of focusing on original material, with a single character on Weekend Update serving as the lone recurring bit of the night.
Charlie Rose – It is not often that “SNL” extrapolates a broader social point from its timely political skethces, which is why this examination of a couple of architects of torture felt as fresh as it did. Bobby Moynihan and Kyle Mooney were keyed in perfectly to the roles of two men who love being great at their jobs, morals be damned. It was not clear, though, why this was presented in a “Charlie Rose” parody, other than for the joke about how it is torture to be stuck in a dark room for years. B
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