Not So Vast Wasteland

ScrubsTelevision is a heck of a lot better today than it has been at just about any time I can remember. This includes the glory days of my youth when networks actually thought they could pass off the likes of “Matt Houston” as quality entertainment and people would go for it. Everybody loves “The Sopranos” of course, but I’m equally wowed by “The West Wing,” and I’m probably more impressed by this season’s newly initiated “Scrubs” than just about anything else. That said, I really, really have to stop watching TV, because it stills sucks the energy from one’s soul mercilessly.

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Aaliyah

AaliyahLast summer I finally got on the R&B tip when I took some time to actually listen to the incredibly inventive vocal and production wizadry driving the non-stop Destiny’s Child tunes available on Napster. That opened up a whole new section of the record store for me (a point clearly lost on the RIAA), and I eventually discovered Aaliyah, whose new eponymous album is really, really impressive. It’s been playing on my CD player for a few weeks now, and every time I think I’m tired of it, I find something new in her amazingly assured delivery to make me want to listen to it all over again.

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Does Whatever a Spider Can

Spider-ManAs a former North American adolescent male, how can I not be completely giddy at the thought of the upcoming Spider-Man movie (due to be released in May 2002)? Columbia Pictures has just released the first teaser trailer for that movie in QuickTime format, and some of it looks fantastic. The bank robbery scene is filmed with a fairly generic hand, but the Spider-Man costume itself is an impressive feat, and the CG animation of ol“ Webhead swinging through Manhattan canyons is a pitch-perfect realization of a million hand-drawn comic book panels.

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Planet of the Pop Star Apes

GorillazThere must be some way I can tell you all about Gorillaz without coming across like a marketing lackey. The fact is, they’re a marketer’s dream — a multi-media collaboration between Damon Albarn (of Blur fame) and Jamie Hewlett (of Tank Girl fame), plus various hangers-on like the over-rated Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and the mega-cool Dan the Automator. How’s that for name dropping? Even the concept is too cute to be true: rather than front an absurd side-project, these pop stars have chosen to express themselves through an imaginary cartoon band. Whatever, the full-length release is a hectic, loopy collision of smart beats and dumb singing stunts, and it makes for a surprisingly excellent collection of tunes — especially for a super group.

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