Magnetic Fields

One of the all-time great unknown bands.

Magnetic Fields (aka Stephin Merritt's brain child) has been around since 1989 and has turned out more great anguished love songs than any other band in that time, but tragically, you still probably have never heard of them.

This is largely owed to their quirky sound and lack of any radio friendly singles.  Even the singles they do have are admittedly on the weirder side.  The fact that they all look like a bunch of middle-school music teachers doesn't help things.  The Fields are a tricky sort of band to crack, they make you search for their greatness.  It isn't going to be sitting on the surface, right their on the front page of Itunes for you to download.  But if you dive down, the treasures are more than worth the effort.

"100,000 Fireflies" may be my favorite song of all time.  It's originality and cleverness in the lyrics, the angelic tone coupled with the miserable state of depression and frustration the lyrics portray, it's a one of a kind type of honesty we all feel but rarely see in the open.

The band's (Merritt's) magnum opus comes in the form of 1999 69 Love Songs an actual compilation of 69 love songs written by Merritt.  The tongue-in-cheek title is a wonderful indicator of the bombast held within.  Songs that are in turn bitingly sarcastic and achingly sincere and run the gamut from pop to irreverent to bizarre experimental.

There are a few links on here making it easier for you to expose yourself to the Magnetic Fields if you were previously unfamiliar, but don't stop there.  Search far and wide, dive deep, the rewards are richer than you could imagine from reading this little article.

Magnetic Fields, supremely Underrated.

River Cuomo's Life Story Is Going to Be A TV Show... What Other Celebrities Will Be Next?

In one of the more surprising ventures to come out of television entertainment this summer, Fox recently announced the green lighting of a pilot based on the real life experience of Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo's time away from the rock universe as a Harvard Student.

The show's story will most likely be of the rom-com nature and neglect much of what made up Cuomo's actual time away from rock stardom (which included 2 years of celibacy, boarding up his windows, and doing 6+ hours of yoga a day).  Producers have given some teasers of the plot saying it would focus on a rockstar going off to college in a fit of "quarter-life crisis", and feature his interactions with the non-famous and meet his future wife (which Cuomo actually did do).

This whole idea of tapping Celebrities' life-stories for television entertainment has made me wonder: what other celebrities are ripe for fictionalization?  So, without further ado, I submit the following pilots for consideration.

Jason Lee

What's it Called: Reels and Rails

Genre: Sit-com

Network: ABC

Why:

Jason Lee first made a name for himself as a competitive skateboarder out of California.  He founded the skate company Stereo with friend Chris "Dune" Pastras and was one of the first two skateboarders to receive a signature shoe from Airwalk (the other being Tony Hawk).  Lee got his break appearing in the films of another friend, Kevin Smith, along with Ben Affleck and has since been known much more for his screen appearances than his skate work.  Reels and Rails is a tale of a rebellious skateboarder who becomes a movie star when his incredible acting chops are discovered in some small indie films he made with a buddy.  Our hero's character and friendships are tested by his sudden and sometimes tumultuous rise to fame.  Jason has already gotten a early start with this as the inspiration behind a character in the Scott Pilgrim universe.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

What's it Called:  The Builder

Genre: Drama

Network: Showtime

Why:

In many ways, Arnold's life story is the American Dream.  There is a whole stable of potential choices for the "actor turned politician" route (another appearing on this list) but Arnold's ascent is so much more complex.  He's not just an actor turned politician, he's a foreign body building champ turned action movie star turned politician.  Content of the show can focus on some of the darker aspects of Arnold's life and the hero can be a charismatic and mysterious foreigner with a single-minded obsession to conquer all things.  Also, there'll be a lot of sex.

Mase (The Rapper)

What's it Called: Drop the Mic

Genre: Drama

Network: Oprah Winfrey Network

Why:

Few stories are less remembered and more bizarre.  Maybe it had something to do with Mase's rapping skills but in any case, this man walked away from the rap game at the peak of his fame to become a minister.  Our hero has a profound religious experience and recommits himself to his faith but struggles to leave his past life behind.  Are we sure this show doesn't already exist?

Henry Rollins

What's it Called: Parental Advisory

Genre: Drama

Network: FX

Why:

I should start out by saying I find Rollins' life to be fascinating.  He has experienced a lot of amazing things and he is great at sharing these experiences.  The part of his life the show would be based on was how he got his start: as a teenage fan of Black Flag that would go on to become that same band's frontman.  This was the premise of a terrible movie Rockstar from about a decade ago but with the proper guidance this could be a gritty, fun show exploring not only the life of a civilian turned rockstar but the underground rock scene of the 80s.

Al Franken

What's it Called: Headlining the Hill

Genre:  Faux Docu-Comedy

Network: NBC

Why:

I mean, c'mon.  How easy is this one?  This was already done as a movie with Robin Williams called Man of the Year.  Just imagine if Stephen Colbert was suddenly a congressman?  The hijinx that would ensue!  Our hero would be a quirky and quick-witted comedian who finds himself running for and winning a seat in congress.  The format would be similar to Parks and Rec and The Office.

Kim Kardashian

What's it Called: Why am I Famous?

Genre: Sit-com

Network: HBO

Why:

Bare with me.  A highly fictionalized account on Mrs. Yeezy's life draws its inspiration from the point at which she gained her fame and runs with it.  A female comic and aspiring actress is suddenly thrown in the spotlight when she makes a drunken sex tape with a sleezy wannabe famous rapper type (think Kevin Federline) that is stepping out on his shallow famous wife.  She struggles to find a balance between keeping her dignity and cashing in on her new found fame.  Sleeper hit here, folks.

Random Music Review: Linkin Park

Who are the once and future messiahs of rock n' roll, Linkin Park?  I think not.

What's in a name?  Is it supposed to be Linkin Park, like a cool way of saying "Linking" like, "Yo, we be linkin'"?  Or is it the Nu-Metal spelling of the name Lincoln? Like in honor of our nation's finest president?  You know, Rutherford B. Hays.

I won't get on these guys too hard, because they were the class of the Nu-Metal genre back in their heyday.  Still, being the best Nu-Metal band is kind of like being the king of the booger eaters.

They also were the epitome of what you should listen to in you basement while you drew in your sketch book while wearing JNCO jeans and drinking Mountain Dew.  Just look at this music video...

Much like Kajagoogoo, Linkin Park were kings of their day. But, also like Kajagoogoo, they're lame now.

But here today, gone tomorrow.  Tragically, nu-metal has fallen out of the mainstream and so has Linkin Park.  While I won't call them overrated as they are mostly forgotten in the sands of Billboard time, they accured far too much fame in this lifetime to ever be considered underrated.  So, Linkin Park, I guess you're Rated Right.