Daft Punk – Get Lucky
One of the most original songs this year and yes that’s quite the contradiction but it’s also what separates good music from crappy radio music nowadays anyway. The originality doesn’t come from the fact that it’s something new, because it’s a very familiar sound, but from the fact that no one else can do it the way Daft Punk does it. Their entire album, Random Access Memories is streaming for free on iTunes for a limited time and it’s quite superb. This isn’t cookie-cutter in any way and it’s what real artists put together. Get Lucky is only the beginning.
Endeavour
Recently visited the new home of Endeavour at the California Science Center. Although I’ve seen the space shuttles fly over town on occasion in the past, I’ve never been that close to one before and Endeavour is a wonder to behold! It’s only sitting inside a temporary building for now and the new wing that will house it will actually have the shuttle right side up with the boosters and fuel tank attached to it. It should be a bigger wonder to behold. $2 to see it for now, is very well worth the visit.
MAD MEN – Season 6
Season 6 of Mad Men finally began and unfortunately the 2-hour season opener felt way too disconnected from the events of last season. Although I would like to say that I live vicariously through one Don Draper, his latest conquest just didn’t fit. Yes, I know, who wasn’t in love with Linda Cardellini when she first appeared in Freaks & Geeks? And yes she’s still a very attractive woman, but her character just didn’t lend anything to the arc of the story. Don’s fling with her seemed rushed. If they wanted him to have this affair, they should have flirted with doing so for another episode or so. All the characters were way disconnected with how their lives were changing last season, but I know they’ll bring it all back together beginning this week. Also, it’s way late in the 60s, very early in the 70s and the characters are losing their elegance a bit. They’re too scruffy, not as clean cut as they were and the women, although stunning still, are beginning to move toward looser personalities, not the prim and lady like attitude they used to have. I almost have no idea what happened that last episode, it’s like the season has yet to begin. There’s always some bizarro episode in every series, that one episode where the writers ran out of ideas but that usually happens mid-season. Like I said before, this is certainly the beginning of the end but I have the confidence that it will only get better as it goes on, it always does.
“What is Regina?”
The single best line of script from Mad Men Season 5!! I just finished watching Season 5 and what an exceptional season it was. I know that the show probably hit its peak a year ago and that it’s probably on its last 2 to 3 season decline but there’s no doubt that this remains one of the smartest, best scripted and best acted shows on TV. Season 5 hit a bit of a dull halfway through it but the bookends of the beginning and end were utterly amazing. Season 6 begins in just a couple of weeks so I couldn’t be happier to finally finish Season 5. Netflix also just announced today that Season 5 is up on their streaming service, all perfect timing. My new hero, Don Draper, has shown some vulnerabilities but he still remains a tough rock, even as he continues to live a separate life from the one he was given. We said goodbye to a couple of characters, or at least I think we did?! One for obvious reasons, but the other one, I’m not so sure about. Season 6 promises to be exceptional and as riveting as this one was. I’m not going to wait til it’s over to watch it, I can’t.
