Don't worry, I'm not gonna start any sword fights. I'm over that phase.

Mal ,'War Stories'


Non-Fiction TV: I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own

This thread is for non-fiction TV, including but not limited to reality television (So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef: Masters, Project Runway), documentaries (The History Channel, The Discovery Channel), and sundry (Expedition Africa, Mythbusters), et al. [NAFDA]


kat perez - Apr 09, 2013 7:30:15 pm PDT #20516 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

Oh, that list is so long. I will definitely co-sign on the no Adele and no Buble. I actually think one of the main problems with the Beatles is that the SiNi only clear the one or two tracks that everybody knows. The Beatles catalog is wide and deep and I believe someone could do a fresh take on a Beatles song, but if I have to hear Yesterday or Come Together or even something like Blackbird one more time, I will cut somebody. So yes, I suppose I can say they go on the list, too, but more because Nigel's a cheap ass. And for the love of god, no more Whitney or Mariah or Celine. Just no. Make it stop. And if it is Motown week, gentlemen, no songs that should be sung by 3-5 old black men in matching powder blue tuxes . . . no Temptations, no Four Tops, no Spinners, no Platters. There's a reason those are group songs. And all you country ladies, no Martina McBride because you don't have the voice for it even if you think you do.

I could make this list all night. Really, I just want a whole season of AI where the only rule every week is that you can't pick a song that's ever been sung in the semi-finals or finals before. That would go a long way to making the show tolerable again.


le nubian - Apr 09, 2013 8:17:44 pm PDT #20517 of 23273
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

Blackbird, Yesterday, Hey fucking Jude need to all be banned. Period. Here Comes the Sun, NO. You are right that only the most well known songs get cleared, but I feel comfortable that people need to check with me first in order to sing Beatles. I will be the quality check. I can handle that burden.

For some reason I don't get so bothered by Whitney or Mariah or Celine. Their songs have been fucked up so badly by so many, that I don't fly into a rage. I've been beaten into submission. You mess with Aretha's classics, though and I am DONE with you for your life as a contestant. I'm about that way with Bonnie Raitt too. If one more 15-year-old sings "I can't make you love me", I'm going to cry big, salty tears. The emotion and range Raitt brings to that song is hard to emulate.


Jessica - Apr 10, 2013 3:42:08 am PDT #20518 of 23273
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

I know nothing of The Voice, but I do have a few Beatles covers I love - the Four Tops do a fantastic "Eleanor Rigby" and the Nields' "Lovely Rita" is pure joy.

(I can't find a full band version online but Nerissa and Katryna alone do it pretty well. I miss the energy of the full band back when they had more of a folk-rock sound, now they lean more country.)

[edit - full band version! Yay! And there's a good chance I know the guy who uploaded this.]


Amy - Apr 10, 2013 4:51:18 am PDT #20519 of 23273
Because books.

I really liked a lot of the Beatles covers on the I Am Sam soundtrack.

Usher is so freaking adorable, he can't be real. For one, it seems like there's not a mean bone in his body. And the standing up before hitting his button, and turning with the arms spread out -- oh boy. I want to pinch his cheeks.


bon bon - Apr 10, 2013 7:11:21 am PDT #20520 of 23273
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.

Seems relevant to this thread: last Tuesday on our way to our normal Tuesday dinner, we spotted Leslie Jordan (recently on RPDR). This Tuesday we sat next to Abby Lee Miller. She was caked in stage makeup and literally wearing an apron with her name on it. She seemed like someone who is very demanding but not meanly so, but I don't watch her show.


Amy - Apr 10, 2013 4:00:36 pm PDT #20521 of 23273
Because books.

Is anyone else watching Survivor this season? I'm so glad I'm watching it again. It's a surprise every week!


Jessica - Apr 10, 2013 4:55:21 pm PDT #20522 of 23273
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

HOLY SHIT TRIBAL. Well played, Malcolm.

Reynolds, on the other hand, is a total fucking idiot. (Or was that Eddie who gave up the idol? I can't tell them apart.)


Amy - Apr 10, 2013 5:00:07 pm PDT #20523 of 23273
Because books.

It was Reynold.

And Andrea, if you're still wondering, Eddie might like (to look at) you, but he wrote down your name.

I would really like one episode where Dawn doesn't cry.

And does Brenda never negotiate or scheme? They never show anyone even trying to talk to her.


brenda m - Apr 10, 2013 5:21:21 pm PDT #20524 of 23273
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there

That was crazy. I also wonder if Reynold will figure out that Malcolm wrote his name down.

Wait, forgot who I was talking about.


kat perez - Apr 10, 2013 7:14:24 pm PDT #20525 of 23273
"We have trust issues." Mylar

I would like to do some things to Usher, too. That boy fine.

I enjoy Fiona Apple's cover of Across the Universe. And I think that Eleanor Rigby and Lovely Rita fall into the category, for me, of Beatles songs that are not done to death at every karaoke bar and/or by every reality show competition contestant or black college talent show contestant ever, so I would accept them.

Abby Lee Miller is kind of everything that's wrong with competitive dance studios (and I don't think all studio owners/teachers are like this) and her treatment of the kids (and moms) on her show is repellent and yet I watch it all the time because I cannot look away. Those kids are going to need years and years of therapy and there is no amount of money to justify the parents' behavior. I'm sure she amps it up for TV, but . . . ewww.