Grammy Awards: For Your Consideration: Record of the Year

Technically, the prize for Record of the Year is to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to sales or chart position."

That's bullshit. Why? Katy Perry was nominated last year in this category. That's why.

Mostly, Record of the Year honors the year's most popular songs. Past recipients of the prize include Adele ("Rollin' in the Deep"), Kings of Leon ("Use Somebody"), Amy Winehouse ("Rehab") and Coldplay ("Clocks"), for songs that have reached #1 or near the top spot of the Billboard charts and around the world.

Here are some singles that should be considered for Record of the Year. Nominations will be announced in a live ceremony on December 5.

Alex Clare "Too Close"


The Black Keys "Gold on the Ceiling"


Calvin Harris featuring Ne-Yo "Let's Go"


David Byrne and St. Vincent "Who"


Grouplove "Tongue Tied"


Kimbra "Settle Down"


M.I.A. "Bad Girls"


Neon Trees "Everybody Talks"

15 Things That Could Happen During The Obama-Romney Lunch

Romney and Obama during one of the debates

1-Someone secretly records the lunch, which is how we find out that Romney not only drinks alcohol (one thing that Mormons do not practice) but an inebriated Romney is begging for the recipe for the secret White House moonshine that is only served during luncheons with former presidential candidates and various rivals.

2-When Obama passes a pitcher of ice lemonade, he accidentally spills some on Romney, in which he begins to malfunction and break down, finally revealing that he is indeed a robot.

3-Despite appearing on both men's Netflix's queues, no one mentions the documentary "2016: Obama's America", "Frontline: The Choice 2012", a PBS documentary profiling both of them, the George Clooney drama "The Ides of March", and the Will Ferrell comedy "The Campaign".

4-Joe Biden will interrupt multiple times during the meal as he tries to show off the new karate moves he is practicing in order to finally get his black beat.

5-Bo, the Obama's family dog, will also interrupt multiple times as he tries to get both men to check out a very deep hole that he dug out in the back yard that contains several bones that may or may not be the remains of dinosaurs.

Bo the Dog

6-Obama and Romney will finally be able to talk trash about Paul Ryan, eventually laughing and giggling as they watch old clips of his speeches, the VP debate, and that TIME magazine photo shoot.

7-One of the items on the menu, baked chicken on a bed of steamed vegetables, is quickly changed for a large plate of hot buffalo wings with a basket of potato wedges, sweet potato fries, and many small containers of ranch dressing. There is a buffalo wing eating contest. The first man to eat ten wings without crying wins a bowling trophy with the sticker "White House Buffalo Wing Champion 2012." Loser has to buy dinner the next time both of them are in the same city.

8-There will be a brief discussion on how to end the NHL lockout, which will be quickly abandoned once they realize that neither of them is at all interested in hockey.

9-Someone's cell phone ring goes to a particularly catchy pop-rock song in the hallway (most likely a member of the Secret Service). They spent ten minutes trying to figure out the name of the song, even going far as whistling and humming the song into a music app that figures out the name of songs.

10-It will be discovered that someone in the Oval Office Googled "Things You Wanted to Know About a Mormon But Were About to Ask" shortly before the luncheon. Whether the president asked Romney anything Mormon-related questions was never known.

11-The second half of the luncheon will consist of both men discussing and debating about their predictions and picks for the upcoming Academy Awards. While either has seen Life of Pi, both are fans of Ang Lee but are not fans of 3D movies, though Romney will admit that he enjoyed The Avengers. Both agree on Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor. They will be divided over Best Actress, though both easily agree that Jennifer Lawrence is by far the most attractive prospective nominee.

Jennifer Lawrence

12-Inspired by talk of Marvel's The Avengers, Romney suggests that Nick Fury should be considered for Secretary of State. Obama will consider the suggestion.

13-The quest for the mystery song is resolved when Obama asks a passing staff member the name of the song after he and Romney hum the bars of the chorus. The staff member mentions that the song is "You CanHave It All" by Lo Ya Tengo. Romney downloads the song onto his iPhone while Obama adds it on a Spotify playlist named "Power Lunch Soundtrack."

14-Originally dessert is a freshly baked apple pie. Romney suggests they go to a bakery in Georgetown where they serve these mouth-watering red velvet cupcakes. This is also where the great Cupcake Eating Contest takes place. Joe Biden wins by a landslide.

15-When their time together comes to an end, both say their goodbyes and agree to follow one another on their personal Twitter and Facebook accounts, on the condition that neither posts prolific videos form YouTube, those someecards, or links to the Huffington Post.

Grammy Nominations: For Your Consideration for Best New Artist

On December 5, the nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards, which commemorates music released from October 1, 2011-September 30, 2012 (confusing, right?) with shiny trophies in a televised event, which is 80 percent performances from the eventual winners. It's no secret that artists who perform will trophies. Otherwise there would be a ton of no-shows to the event.

Forget the ceremonies for a moment. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences is probably the most out-of-touch Academy involved in culture. While in recent years they have nominated and awarded artists who are representing the cultural shifts in music, often they are dubious. For instance, there is a possibility that One Direction might be nominated for Best New Artist. Really? Then there are times when the Academy is bold and goes against what others want and reward some fascinating and talented musicians. For the same category, jazz singer-songwriter Ezperanda Spalding won over Justin Bieber (along with popular acts Mumford & Sons, Florence & The Machine, and former "Degrassi" star turned rapped Drake) in 2010. This left those twits who call themselves Biebliebers outraged, since they are awful people who cry and scream when they don't get exactly what they "biebelieve" they deserve.

Several of the frontrunners like Gotye and fun. are worthy of a Grammy nod (if not the win) in this category as well as in several other categories, this post is not focusing on the popular frontrunners. Here are several artists that are not being widely discussed who should be considered, if not earn a nomination for Best New Artist on December 5.

Alabama Shakes

Formed in 2009 in Alabama, they started their path to rock stardom as a cover band, performing locally and around the South, including Birmingham and Memphis. They even opened for Drive-By Truckers for a few shows before finally recording a demo EP of their original material. This quartet fuses southern charm, soul, and hard rock into its performances and on their debut album, Boys & Girls, which peaked #8 on Billboard.

Hunter Hayes

It's been awhile since a country solo artist has been in this category. Crossover acts Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry scored a nod in recent years, but the last solo artist was Carrie Underwood, who won the prize, in 2007. The 21-year old Louisiana native not only writes his own material, he plays guitar (as well as bass), accordion, piano, mandolin, bass, and drums. He can be his own band. In fact, he played every instrument on his self-titled debut album. Until that happens, he is currently touring with past Best New Artist recipient Underwood in a 90-city tour that will most likely conclude just in time for the Grammys ceremony.

Imagine Dragons

Not a lot of musicians or original musical talent break out of Vegas, but the success rate is pretty substantial. (The Killers, The Crystal Method, Ne-Yo). While "It's Time" was one of the biggest hits of the summer, their best track from their debut album is "Radioactive", a piercing and remarkable piece of stadium rock 'n' roll. We want people to hear that song and feel empowered,” singer-songwriter Dan Reynolds explains.

Of Monsters and Men

Not since Bjork has Iceland exported such a talented musical act. Unlike Bjork, Of Monsters and Men is more about song performance than high theatricals and occasionally polarizing imagery. Their sound is dreamy and light yet consistent, entertaining blend of sing-along folk and rock-pop. The first time I heard "Little Talks", I thought it was a new track from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros or a different version of Arcade Fire (the six-piece Icelandic group have been compared to both bands). They were recently profiled on PBS in a program profiling international musical acts that aspire to entertain and offer a wonderful alternative to the bubblegum and manufactured pop that Top 40 radio has to offer.

Emeli Sandé

Before her debut album was released in February 2012, she already had a successful career as a songwriter, penning lyrics for artists like Rihanna, Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle, and Cher Lloyd. She gained major exposure when she performed at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics in London. Even though she is young (age: 25), she has more than a decade of songwriting skills to her resume. She wrote her first song at age 11. 

TOMORROW: FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR RECORD OF THE YEAR

THURSDAY: FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR SONG OF THE YEAR

FRIDAY: FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR ALBUM OF THE YEAR

All In: 7 Songs That Kinda Discuss the Petraeus Scandal

While the Petraeus Scandal continues to monopolize the news and continues to unravel and become more confusing by the minute, here are 7 songs that can kinda discuss the scandal. A man in power meets a woman. They have a relationship. Woman becomes engulfed with jealousy and become territorial. Man's wife is hurt, along with family. A man obsessed with the case. A country's military intelligence possibly compromised.

Lifehouse "All In" (2010)



This track from Lifehouse's fifth album Smoke and Mirrors shares the title from Broadwell's flattering (but not very adored or acclaimed by others) biography of General Petraeus. Some of the lyrics are eerily parallel to their conflicted relationship. At one point, singer Jason Wade murmurs "Yeah, I want it, I want it" several times, which may have been something the author had in the back of her mind during researching and writing the book.

Stevie Wonder "Part-Time Lover" (1985)



In nearly all extramarital affairs, the "other" woman or man is relegated to the title of this #1 hit from Stevie Wonder. Petraeus led a double life, the one as respected military and family man and one with his blushing bride/biographer, Paula Broadwell, who barely suppressed her puppy love about the four-star general in various media appearances to promote her best-selling biography on her lover, All In.

REO Speedwagon "Take It On The Run" (1981)



I'm sure (or I hope) General Petaeus told his wife of 37 years in the face about his infidelity with Paula Broadwell. But clearly the missus must have heard rumors from others about what was going on. She must have had her doubts. "Take It On The Run" became REO Speedwagon's second single to reach #1 in the US.

Nivea featuring Jagged Edge "Don't Mess with my Man" (2002)



Paula Broadwell began emailing "harassing" emails to Jill Kelley, a close friend of the Petraeus family, bascially telling her to back off. R&B singer Nivea can relate. In the chorus, she tells the other woman that she is gonna "be the one to bring it to you." Both women don't mess around, and they will clock you if you even think about making a move.

Roxette "Dangerous" (1988)



Is Broadwell truly dangerous? She did send harassing emails to a family friend, which prompted her to contact the FBI? (Anderson Cooper doesn't buy that someone could contact them over "harassing" emails, given that most people get harassed online at some point.) If the line "I know you're business but I don't know your name" was featured on the subject line of an email you receive doesn't trigger you to notify the authorities, then I don't know what will.

Elvis Presley "Suspicious Minds" (1969)



Originally written and recorded by Mark James, this rendition from the King shot to number one on Billboard and became one of his most popular songs. Elvis, no stranger to dysfunctional relationships, wasn't the only singer to sing about being suspicious. Over the years, artists from across the broad musical landscape, from country singer Dwight Yoakam to punk-pop band Bowling for Soup recorded their own renditions of "Suspicious Minds."

The Orion Experience "Obsessed with You" (2007)



In one of the most bizarre twists of this scandal, the FBI agent who unleashed this story to the world was in fact dismissed from this case after it was discovered that the agent was obsessed with Petraeus and knocking him off his pedestal.
Okay, it's not a very accurate song to cap this off, but it's light, catchy, and it does tell a creepy tale about a guy who readily admits his obsession with someone with pride. "They say it's gotta out of hand and I'm obsessed with you," he sings light-heartedly throughout the song.

GO OUT AND VOTE!

The United States is not perfect. Far from perfect. But today is one of those days where I am glad to be living in this country.

Today we the people have the right to go out and vote.

So many people have worked hard to grant us this right. And so many more people around the world are fighting or have been fighting to receive this wonderful right that most of us take for granted.

It doesn't matter who you vote for or what you say YES or NO to whatever propositions are in your ballot. Just go out and vote damnit.

-ES

Did you vote yet? You have til 7pm whatever time zone you're in.

The Return of FEENY!!! Boy Meets World, Again.

The four best friends most of us didn't really have.

Twelve years after its final episode aired on ABC's TGIF! lineup, "Boy Meets World" (or "BWM" for the purpose of this article), the super-corny yet genuinely entertaining sitcom chronicling the life adventures of Cory (Ben Savage, younger brother of slightly more successful and Emmy-nominated actor-turned-comedy TV director Fred Savage); his on-again-off-again-on-again-off-again girlfriend (seriously, how many times did they break-up in high school?) turned fiancee-turned-wife Topanga (Danielle Fishel); his best friend, the "bad boy" Shawn (Ryder Strong), who was rather tame compared to his compatriots on other 90s teen shows and modern-day standards for TV and real-life bad boys; and his older brother Eric (Will Friedle, sporting a weird beard and get-up in this photo from a National Lampoon movie. Friedle was geniuenly laugh-out-loud funny, and it's a shame his career didn't continue to climb post-BWM)

Feeny!!!

Their life stories and adventures often included commentary/Greek chorus and advice from the beloved and respected Mr. Feeny, who was portrayed by William Daniels, in his best-known and beloved role. So suck on that Entertainment Weekly. Those idiots think his signature role was voicing some sports car on some 80s show.

I first began watching the show during the last couple of years on ABC, where it aired during its Friday night lineup called TGIF, where various other forgettable sitcoms featuring several actors who deserved much better (like Bonnie Hunt and Breckin Meyer) also aired. And George Lopez's sitcom.

When it went off the air in May 2000, the Disney Channel, which had been airing reruns for several years by then, picked up the slack for those who were suffering from "BMW" withdrawal. Back-to-back episodes would air every afternoon at 4pm that autumn. Then two hours of "BMW" were on the air every day. Granted the 11pm-12am episodes were a repeat of the 4pm-5pm ones, but still. That's two hours of "BWM." Then there were the 24-hour marathons that occurred every New Year's Day ("Where's There a Will, There's a Marathon") throughout the 2000s. Then mini-marathons (6-10 episodes in one sitting) would air during random weekends.

At one point, "BMW" was on Disney Channel more often than the network's original content, which included "Even Stevens", "Lizzie McGuire", and that show with the fake-famous black kid TV star and  the other one with that sports jersey that could take kids back in time to various sports-related events. It was on Disney Channel that really introduced me to Cory and Co. It was amazing. For awhile, I watched so much "BMW" that I was able to recite dialogue from almost every episode. I felt like they could have been my friends in real-life, or at least the friends I wished I had in real life. (Boo-hoo moment here.)

Look, it's a picture of a sad cute puppy to show how sad I was when I was a kid.
Oh, that puppy is so adorable.
Sorry, where were we?

Eventually, I managed to get some real-life friends (so, hooray for me.) and I stopped watching "BMW." Something called college, then Florida, then schedule changes at Disney Channel got in the way. Then a couple of years ago, I was working out at the gym on campus when I noticed a very familiar face on a TV screen that was attached to that weird machine where you work on your legs (you run on it and it records how many strokes you can do in one minute). It was Eric's face. And he was trying to get Feeny ("Feeny!") to meet him on the fence that bordered their back-yards. I got off the bike and asked the woman on the machine about this. She told me that it was on MTV2. I got on the machine next to hers and began working on my legs with the weird stroke-recording machine. While I never bothered to figure out the name of the device, I did create a schedule where I would go to the gym every afternoon when "BMW" was on MTV2. And I got into good shape in the process. But more importantly, I was able to laugh and enjoy a piece of my childhood that I didn't know I had missed so dearly when I saw Eric and Mr. Feeny on the small screen.

William Daniels, a Tony-nominee and two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner, made his acting debut in 1943. He has appeared on the screen in "A Thousand Clowns", "The Graduate" and "Two for the Road", and on Broadway in "A Thousand Clowns" and "1776". This is his most memorable role to people under the age of 30. I am definitely using this GIF for his obituary.

Now it has been announced that "Boy Meets World" is coming back to life. The Disney Channel (of course) are planning to create a sequel called "Girl Meets World", which would chronicle the Cory and Topanga's daughter and her life adventures.

The Feeny doll. I sincerely hope Disney creates this for their upcoming  BMW/GWM merch-fest.

I have mixed feelings about this. I understand this is part of the natural trend where we dig not-very-deep into the pop culture of our not-so-distant past for revitalized entertainment. Most of the 2000s where spent on revitalizing pop culture of the 1980s. (Thanks VH1!) And now the 2010s are about the 90s. We have rivalling boy bands. Several 90s TV stars are back on TV (and a bunch of them are on the cast of "The Good Wife"). There was an attempt at remaking "Total Recall" that didn't quite work out. Four people from "Friends" have TV shows. (And one of them, Matt Leblanc aka Joey won a Golden Globe in the process. Another one, Lisa Kudrow, won an Emmy for creating one a hilarious web series that turned into a TV series.)

I love "Boy Meets World." But I'm not sure it should be revived for a sequel. At least it shouldn't be a hack job. It has to be done right. People's emotions and childhood memories are at stake.

Let's be honest. The show hasn't aged well. Its drenched in that After-School Special juice that is ready to be mocked and parodied by the cynics of this era. The writing on the show wasn't that great (but then, that hasn't stopped numerous shows about high school from succeeding, even today). But it's going to happen, because:

Imagine this entire Disney Store filled with BWM merch.

A) it's Disney, and those guys know how to squeeze every last cent out of something in order to further profit from it.

B) it will succeed as long as there are "BMW" fanatics around.

C) the cast haven't really been successful professionally in the 12 years the show ended its run. With the exception of Daniels (Feeny), who won two Emmys for Best Actor for "St. Elsewhere" and has had a remarkable career on the stage and in movies for decades prior to ""BMW", it seems everyone else peaked with the show. Sure Friedle was on "Kim Possible" and Fishel was a TV host for some obscure entertainment show, then gained publicity for losing weight and became a spokesperson for Nurtisystem. But they haven't been on the tip of tongues of most people, except maybe contestants of game shows and board games at home when the category "90s kid actors" or "Disney TV shows" appears.

D) If they could find a way to bring the now 85-year old Daniels back, Disney will do it. Where there's a will, there a....

E) Marathon. Endless marathons of "BMW" to promote "Girl Meets World" or "GMW". And promo plug-ins. Plus, the initial audience from "BMW" and the fans who discovered the show in the 2000s are now adults. And some of them have some disposable income. Unless Romney is elected (and he won't, but let's be like New Yorkers for a second and prepare for the worst.), then that remaining disposable income is no mas. (That's "no more" in Spanish. I'm gonna use it now just in case Spanish is illegal under a Romney-fied America.) Think of the merch that the Rat, errr, Mouse can create to rake in some income. T-shirts, books, posters, dolls, lunch boxes, special packages of episodes on iTunes, DVD sales, maybe a tour where they will sing and dance. Who knows. Anything can happen.

I mean, as long as Disney continues to refuse to create anything positive for the largest minority in this country, then I will (reluctantly) get on this "Boy Meets World" bandwagon. Or BMW. I can get on one of those. They are comfy and reliable, like Disney.

A scene from the TV wedding of our youth.