A MTV show where stuff actually happens!

Onto another hot mess of reality shows and perhaps the biggest hot mess of them all: Jersey Shore.

To be completely honest, there is not a lot of material to say about Jersey Shore that isn't already said.

You could agree with every major criticism posed by people who hate the show, that it is a vapid and annoying chunk of thirty minutes that serves no purpose. That is true, but where the Hills was extremely annoying with it's false pretense of being a real show, Jersey Shore for the most part seems largely unscripted. Also, on The Hills the assembly line cut outs of extra gorgeous people with little to say and even less to actually talk about--nothing progresses on the show...ever. So if a show that can succeed on being about nothing, revolving around nothing and in large sum just a big ZERO can inspire pop culture following, why can't the kids on the Shore?

The cast members of the Jersey Shore have no large ambitions to work in the plastic bubble city of Hollywood nor do they perpetuate a myth that they have real talent. In short, they want to party and they want to party hard.

What makes the show a runaway success is that not only does it narrow in on America's fascination with spectator living, but it closely resembles what many of its demographic would actually do given the opportunity. Its a show that shows America what a majority of its youth are actually doing.

"With friends like this, you will want enemies."

In case you've been avoiding the Oxygen channel because of it's apparent Lifetime Network leeway, there is one reason to tune into the female-centric network. The guilty, guilty, guilty pleasure of the Bad Girls Club.

Created by one of the creators of MTV's pioneering The Real World, Bad Girls Club follows seven to eight self-proclaimed bad girls living "harmoniously" together in a beautiful Los Angeles pad.

Of course, because each girl is a self-proclaimed "Baddest Bitch" out there, bumps and ugly fights (with cringeworthy and hilarious moments) ensue when the girls duke it out for top Bitch status.

It might make some roll their eyes in disbelief, but the Bad Girls Club succesfully plays up to catty female stereotypes while at the same time giving the girls the opportunity (if they see it) to reform themselves.

I love the show, and I'm addicted to it. It's more real than the real world, more do or die than the survivor and better than any love reality show, because there is no tangible prize. Plus, because the premise is based on being naughty, there is none of the usual good girl gone trickster. Everything is up front, love it or hate it.

The show is on Season 5 and this is the most explosive season yet. Natalie "I Run LA!", Kate, Amber, Annie, Florina, Kendra, Portia (she's left at the time of post) and Lexxie all take on stop and rewatch cat fights, bisexual trysts, naked randomness, money, men and lots of clubbing. Good girls are nice, but bad girls are a little too much fun to watch and hide.

Bad Girls Club airs every Tuesday at 8 p.m. Central on Oxygen

Stop Right Now! Thank You Very Much ^_^

It's been reported on NME.com that there is a jukebox musical about The Spice Girls in the works! I hope that I'm not the only one uber excited at the idea.

The musical is being planned by the groups manager Simon Fuller, and Judy Craymer (producer from Mama Mia!). Fuller came to Craymer with the idea in 2008, and Geri Halliwell has met with producer Craymer to talk about ideas of the musical.

Craymer said of the musical, "It'll be a mix of fact and fiction, a story of women and friendship. The Spice Girls create a lot of excitement, and the show will tap into the essence of them." The musical is tentetively titled Viva Forever and will most likely start in London's West End.

Criminal Minds- Risky Business

Tonight's episode of Criminal Minds has me at a loss of words. First of all, I don't know why I never thought to blog about the show before. It's fantastic and creepy. Just my kind of show.

There was probably more to say about last weeks episode "The Uncanny Valley" but this weeks was just as if not more unsettling. A series of teen suicides occurring at around the same time in a small town in Wyoming has local police baffled and searching for answers. The FBI's BAU (or Behavioral Analysis Unit) investigates at the urging of their liaison J.J. to find that not only are the teens not attempting to kill themselves but are being encouraged by an online "chocking game" that has become a competition between three of the local high schools. Crazy right?

So, in order to raise awareness and try to stop kids from getting involved SSA Morgan and Dr. Reid go to the schools to explain how dangerous participating is. Enter the main suspect (or UnSub to the fancy profilers on the show) Christopher, your not so friendly neighborhood goth kid. Apparently, he started wearing black for his mothers funeral a few years back and never stopped. I have a few choice words to say on this subject but I'll refrain for a later blog I have planned.

Moving on, with Chris in custody Dr. Reid and Morgan attempt to establish a rapport with him only to fail miserably. Best scene in the show happens when the team's tech analyst attempts to connect with Christopher showing a humanity not often displayed on criminal procedural shows. After that everything goes hinky when the kids dad intervenes and gets him outta there. Only after they let him leave to they realize that the father has some serious problems and is in fact *dun dun dun* the killer.

Will they find and be able to reach goth kid Christopher before his dad finally kills him and potentially numerous other kids online?

Honestly there is so much sickness going on with this killer I found myself more terrified at the idea of people like him being plausible than taking interest at the who-done-it fantasy of the show. Munchausen by Proxy, severe child abuse, murder, and a little bit of an narcissistic angel of death complex (the last one is my opinion, not apart of the plot of the show) is a little too much for this girl to handle in just one episode.

The message at the end was a nice summation of whats been going on within the story arch. Using J.J.'s sisters suicide as a way for someone on the team to relate to Hotch's loss of his (ex)wife by the evil Reaper back on the 100th episode (The Happy Thanksgiving, lets murder a mother episode).

Hopefully next week will be less heavy, but who am I kidding? Murder isn't something to be taken lightly.

Two for the price of one blog

KROQ announced the full line up of this years Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival today and I'm left with a feeling of meh. While I'm sure there are those out there jumping for joy at the line up I still feel as if there is something to be desired. The event will be from April 16 to the 18 in Indio.

Sure, it would be awesome to see Jay Z but do I really want to sit or rather stand around waiting for the headliner? If you have the money why not I say. Still for sheer fact of diversity in acts alone the festival would be a site to see, like it is every year I'm sure. And who doesn't want to see Pavement, The Specials, or Camera Obscura? Well, I do.

To sum it up in a text I sent my sister "...there are a few acts sprinkled throughout that would be fun to see but on a whole [the line up is] rather lackluster."

Those of you that have the dough tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 am. Three day passes are $ 269.oo plus surcharges, not to mention finding a hotel out in Indio.


Full line up (I bolded artist I think would be worth seeing)

FRIDAY APRIL 16: Jay-Z, LCD Soundsystem, Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, Deadmau5, Public Image Limited, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Benny Benassi, Fever Ray, Grace Jones, She & Him, Erol Alkan, The Avett Brothers, Calle 13, The Whitest Boy Alive, The Cribs, La Roux, Yeasayer, Lucero, DJ Lance Rock, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Proxy, Ra Ra Riot, Deer Tick, Wolfgang Gartner, Aeroplane, Iglu & Hartly, Sleigh Bells, P.O.S., Baroness, Hockey, Little Dragon, White Rabbits, Wale, Kate Miller-Heidke, As Tall as Lions, Jets Overhead, Alana Grace, Pablo Hassan.

SATURDAY, APRIL 17: Muse, Faith No More, Tiësto, MGMT, David Guetta, The Dead Weather, Hot Chip, Devo, Coheed and Cambria, Kaskade, 2Many DJ's, Major Lazer, Dirty Projectors, Gossip, Z-Trip, The xx, John Waters, Les Claypool, The Raveonettes, Mew, Sia, Camera Obscura, Tokyo Police Club, Porcupine Tree, Old Crow Medicine Show, Aterciopalados, Bassnectar, Frightened Rabbit, Dirty South, Flying Lotus, Corinne Bailey Rae, Pretty Lights, Shooter Jennings, RX Bandits, The Almighty Defenders, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Craze & Klever, Zoe, The Temper Trap, Portugal. The Man, Band of Skulls, Girls, Beach House, Steel Train, Frank Turner.

SUNDAY, APRIL 18: Gorillaz, Pavement, Thom Yorke????, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, De La Soul, Julian Casablancas, Plastikman, Gary Numan, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, MUTEMATH, Deerhunter, Infected Mushroom, Club 75, Matt & Kim, The Big Pink, Gil Scott-Heron, King Khan and the Shrines, Florence and the Machine, Yann Tiersen, Little Boots, Miike Snow, Talvin Singh, Ceu, B.o.B., Babasonicos, Owen Pallett, The Glitch Mob, Mayer Hawthorne, Local Natives, Rusko, The Middle East, Hadouken!, The Soft Pack, Kevin Devine, Paparazzi, Delphic, One EskimO.

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Speaking of line up announcements....The Bamboozle Left has finally announced more acts for the left coast version of the famous festival. Its not a full line up but its better than nothing. Even more excited is the face that Say Anything will be in attendance.

So far the March 27th line up is AFI, Angels and Airwaves, Say Anything, All The Day Holiday, Chase Long Beach, Envy On The Coast, Jonny Craig, Kill Paradise, and The Bouncing Souls

March 28th Something Corporate, The Maine, Cold Flamez, Far East Movement, The Bangz, The Ready Set, and T.Mills

There's still be more to be announced before the show in March at the Angel Stadium so fingers crossed for some Taking Back Sunday action!

Stop the presses!

I just found out that Amanda Palmer, singer of The Dresden Dolls, artsy theater music lady extraordinaire, and basically my favorite human being ever, not only caused a ruckus on the Golden Globes red carpet this past weekend stripping down as she is known to do (SEE PICS HERE) but she recently got engaged to boyfriend and also up there on my favorite people list Neil Gaiman! Pretty sweet huh?

Gaiman announced their engagement to "The World" January 15 on his website neilgaiman.com

The Shennantics crew would like to say congratulations to Amanda "Effin!" Palmer and Neil Gaiman on their engagement!

Hey Shennantics, it's 2010!

Okay, so now that the holiday bruhaha is over and done with lets ring in the New Year the right way with a list of things to look forward to in this brand new decade:

6. Bamboozle <---- ( that would be Left)

The full line up, or any kind of line up for that matter, for this years Bamboozle Left hasn't been announced (yet!). But with headlining acts AFI March 27 and the reunion of Something Corporate March 28 so far it's shaping up to be pretty awesome. Tickets are on sale now for $42.50 for a single day but you might as well scrounge up the change and get a 2 day pass for $82.

5. Eclipse

Yes, total Twilight moment right now. I know, I know...I'm probably the only one on this site that cares. But Eclipse is my favorite story in the "saga" and I honestly hope to God that they stop here (who the heck wants to see Breaking Dawn with its stupid talk fight? The only reason I would want to see it is if they give Michael Sheen more screen time). Sadly there is going to be some incontinuity with the role of Victoria being played by Bryce Dallas Howard in this one. The movie will be in theaters June 30, so rejoice Twi-hards and Twi-haters alike (only one more year or so to go through 'til the whole fads over)

oh p.s. for all you Twi-haters out there, my sister coined a term for you all to use: Twi-tards. Have fun with that one.

4. Alice in Wonderland

For the creepy and fantastical, you can't get any better than Tim Burton. This version of story has Alice as a 17-year-old girl returning to Wonderland in order to face some kind of intended destiny to fight the Red Queen and end her reign of terror. All the key players are involved, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. Even better and more exciting though is the fact that Crispin Glover (creepy goodness, and George McFly from the Back to the Future movies), Alan Rickman (Freaking Professor Snape, from Harry Potter naturally) and Michael Sheen (Underworld, New Moon, my new favorite actor) have a part in Burton's Wonderland as well! The movie is set to release March 5.

3. Doctor Who

Uh, hello...new doctor! While I will definately miss David Tennet as the Doctor but I'm excited for a new season. Matt Smith will play the eleventh doctor and the show will be on BBC America in the Spring (unless you find it online from England). Hopefully this will mean more Torchwood as well ^_^

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1!

Even better than Twilight (and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise), the first part of Harry Potter's definitive Deathly Hallows, will be out this year. *Squee!* In Deathly Hallows, Harry begins his quest to defeat the dark wizard Lord Voldemort by dropping out of school and going camping. This is Harry's and the rest of the wizarding worlds last stand against the evil forces that have infected their government, as well as terrorizing thier towns and worst of all taking control Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Needless to say, I am thrilled.

1. My Chemical Romance's forthcoming album

Since seeing My Chem in action last summer at one of the two warm up shows @ The Roxy, there has been no doubt in my mind that the next album is going to be bigger and bolder than anything they've done before. With songs like "Death before Disco" and "Trans Am" My Chem has cut out all the theatrics and settled into being a down and dirty rock and roll band. Lead singer Gerard Way spoke to Spin Magazine saying of the new album, "If Black Parade was about the sweeping gesture, this is about the bold statement." The album doesn't have a title yet, but will be out sometime later this year.


Did I forget to mention something amazing happening in 2010? Tell me how brain missing I am in the comments and let me know what your excited about this year.