TV
-95th Academy Awards (March 12 on ABC) – Time to give out some Oscars.
–Superman & Lois Season 3 Premiere (March 14 on The CW)
–Ted Lasso Season 3 Premiere (March 15 on Apple TV+)
Music
-Miley Cyrus, Endless Summer Vacation
-Fever Ray, Radical Romantics
Sports
-Men’s March Madness (March 14-April 3 on CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV) – And Selection Sunday is on March 12.
-Women’s March Madness (March 15-April 2 on ESPN and ABC)
SNL: Miley Cyrus, Elon Musk, Cecily Strong (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
Happy Mother’s Day! How come Richard Roundtree has never hosted SNL? Instead, this Mother’s Day Weekend, the host is Business Man Elon Musk, whose booking reminds me of that of Steve Forbes (i.e., Teve Torbes) in 1996. Musk is famously Not-A-Comedian, but can he successfully appear in funny comedy sketches? I have decided to find out. Miley Cyrus is the musical guest. She likes to appear on this show frequently!
I received my second COVID vaccination dose approximately 16 hours before I began watching this episode. I think the shot made me especially hungry, so it helped that I had a hearty breakfast that included some combination of eggs, strawberries, crumbs, and other nutrient-packed selections.
Now onto the part of the review where I talk about the sketches! The Cold Opening (Grade: 3.5/5 Mothers) features Miley Cyrus singing a song and the cast members bantering with their moms. It all culminates with a quite-possibly-record-breaking 36 people declaring, “LFNY,ISN!” at the same time.
Damn, there were plenty of songs that made me go “Damn” in 2020. Check ’em out below!
1. U.S. Girls, “4 American Dollars”: What can I say, I love a good song about economic enlightenment that you can totally shake your little butt to.
2. Miley Cyrus, “Midnight Sky”: Miley is a rock star for the ages. It’s 100% official.
3. Doja Cat, “Say So”: Pure neon-soaked euphoria.
4. Cannons, “Fire for You”: Listen to the words she’s using: “I was on fire for you.” It feels like that to some of us sometimes, doesn’t it?
5. Dua Lipa, “Don’t Start Now”: Oh wow, that’s a lot of disco in the top 5. It’s back, baby! “Don’t Start Now”? More like “Don’t Stop Ever!” More
I didn’t listen to every new album that was released in 2020 – DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE! But I did listen to a few dozen; some were rockin’, some were poppin’, some were hippity-hoppin’, and a few even had some jazzy freakouts. Here are the 15 that most satisfied my ears and my tapping toes:
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–The Trial of the Chicago 7 (October 16 on Netflix)
–The Witches (October 22 on HBO Max) – Bobby Zemeckis takes on Roald Dahl.
TV
–Card Sharks Season Premiere (October 18 on ABC)
–Supermarket Sweep Reboot Premiere (October 18 on ABC) – Host Leslie Jones sends the contestants on their grocery hunts.
–Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Season Premiere (October 18 on ABC)
–black-ish Season 7 Premiere (October 21 on ABC)
–The Conners Season 3 Premiere (October 21 on ABC)
–The Goldbergs Season 8 Premiere (October 21 on ABC)
Music on TV
-Miley Cyrus Backyard Sessions (October 16 on MTV)
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.
The SNL at Home experiment continues onward! For #2, we don’t have a host or musical guest this time, at least none officially announced during the opening montage. Although, Brad Pitt and Miley Cyrus essentially fulfill the same duties that Tom Hanks and Chris Martin did last time. I’d like to say for the official record books that they were in fact the host and MG, but I generally go by what Darrell Hammond (previously Don Pardo) says. (Though, for what it’s worth, Season 45’s Wikipedia page currently does list them as the host and MG.)
In a similar state of confusion, I went to bed on Saturday night planning on making scrambled eggs in the morning, but when I woke up, I was more in the mood for cereal, but when I made it to the kitchen, I was back to being in the mood for eggs. So, the rumors are true, I did cook some eggs and toast. It was the right call.
(One quick note so that we’re all on the same page: for as long as new episodes remain at home, I’ll aim to make my grades for the sketches wackier than usual.)
Of all the pieces of art and entertainment that I’m ranking for the decade, songs are probably the most personal. Yet somehow I feel compelled to consider how they affected the world at large moreso than all the other categories. The tunes that I value the most aren’t just the ones that make my own heart sing but also the ones that draw all of us closer together. So as I assembled this list, I asked myself both, “What has made me dance these past 10 years?” and “How would I like to dance with everyone else?” Here’s what that playlist looks like.
(I aimed to stick only to songs that were released as singles, as opening this to deep album cuts would’ve made things so overheated.)