I like folk music (my secret shame!), I like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I like unexpected covers. That said, I did not expect to enjoy a folk cover of the theme song from Fresh Prince. But it’s pretty rad. You got chocolate in my peanut butter, Kay Pettigrew!
To my enormous shock, Ms. Pettigrew is not the only guitar-strumming vocalist to cover the song.
What do flowers dream about? The answer can be found in Flower, the new PlayStation 3 game that costs a mere $10 to download. Worth it? You betcha. Now, I’m no gaming aficionado, but it seems to me that Flower is a case study in how videogames can emotionally affect you. Playing the game is the equivalent of reading a Zen poem, chilling to classical music, and watching a Hayao Miyazaki movie — all at the same time! (Not that I’ve ever done those three things simultaneously before.)
The game’s concept is refreshingly simple (read: anyone can play). You begin in a somber urban apartment where a single flower sits on a windowsill. You are then whisked into that flower’s dream, which consists of gliding through majestic hills and pristine skies. The flower is controlled by using the PS3′s motion-sensitive controller; that is, you tilt and rotate the controller as you help your flower collect additional pedals and unlock new areas. It’s impossible to describe how calming and enriching the game feels — I could see it being used in a psychologist’s office! Of course, none of this may sound very appealing to those hardcore gamers who require rapid action, blood, and carnage, but casual players who just want to escape momentarily into another world will be thrilled. Calmly, of course.
The video below gives you a taste of Flower (be sure to watch it in high quality). What do you think? Have any of you already played it? Pretty cool, yes? And, PopWatchers, what other games also deliver a nearly spiritual sensation? The only ones that come to my mind are Ocarina of Time, Shadow of the Colossus, and Okami. What am I missing?
"I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really: get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’." –Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) in The Shawshank Redemption
Talk about a superhero: Marvel Entertainment just announced that, thanks to robust Iron Man DVD sales totaling some $136 million, the company’s profits exceeded expectations at the end of 2008. Which is great news, indeed — for Marvel…and me! After all, I still submit that, when it comes to comic-book flicks, Iron Man is far superior to The Dark Knight. (Sorry, uh, rest of the world!) But I digress. The real issue here is: Can Marvel stay strong? Last year marked the organization’s freshman foray into filmmaking as a stand-alone studio, and while Iron Man wound up a huge hit (worldwide gross: $582 mil), sister summer release The Incredible Hulk fared merely well (worldwide gross: $263 mil). Meanwhile, the Punisher franchise seems finished for now, series like Blade, Fantastic Four, and Daredevil/Elektra could use a reboot, and while X-Men Origins: Wolverine is due out this summer, it’ll be a while before we get our next glimpse into the world of Tony Stark, more than a year hence. And who knows what to make of that Spider-Man musical. What do you think? And what Marvel movies/musicals are you looking forward to seeing?
Our parents probably wouldn’t be pleased: According to a new study by the Nielsen Co., we Americans averaged 151 hours of TV during the fourth quarter of 2008, up from a mere 146 hours during the same period the year before. Now, these stats could be interpreted in two ways. There were a few more originals airing at the end of last year versus the end of 2007, when the writers hit the picket line for what ended up being a 100-day labor dispute. Or it could just mean that TV seemed a heckuva lot more interesting this time around.
I’m thinking it’s more of the latter; in fact, just about every broadcast network has a show that’s up in viewers this season, be it Bones on Fox, Smallville and Supernatural on the CW, or NCIS and Ghost Whisperer (Ghost Whisperer!) on CBS. Are these shows any better than they were in previous seasons? Maybe, but I also suspect that — with the economy being in the crapper and all — a lot more people rediscovered TV after realizing that it’s much cheaper to enjoy Simon Baker in The Mentalist (pictured) than Clive Owen in The International.
What about you? Are you watching more TV these days? What shows have you discovered for the first time this season?
Legendary producer Rick Rubin has been working on tracks for the Clipse’s long-awaited third album this month, the rap duo’s camp tells EW. Rubin, who signed the Clipse to Columbia Records shortly after taking over as the label’s cochairman in 2007, has completed one tune with them so far in a Malibu studio; they plan to work with him on one to two more in the coming weeks. Though Rubin began his career in the ’80s working with acts like Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and the Beastie Boys, he’s more recently focused on producing rock and pop bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Weezer — along with occasional high-profile forays into hip-hop like Jay-Z’s "99 Problems" in 2003. Needless to say, the thought of the bearded studio wizard crafting tracks for critical darlings the Clipse is enough to make many rap fans salivate.
The Clipse is currently aiming for a late-summer release for Til the Casket Drops, which will feature contributions from a wide range of beatsmiths. First single "Kinda Like a Big Deal," produced by DJ Khalil and featuring Kanye West, is set to drop March 9.
When news broke of Kathy Griffin selling her memoir for a reported $2 million, the logical response was: What could she have to tell us that we haven’t heard her say on stage in her act or in an episode of her Emmy-winning Bravo reality series, My Life on The D-List? Plenty, I suspect. Specials and episodes are only so long and for every horror/juicy story she’s shared, there are probably 50 others. And does it really matter if she repeats a few stories? If you’re a fan of Griffin (or, at least, if you’re this fan), you find yourself watching her specials every time you stumble upon them. Her tales are the kind you want to hear again and again because there’s always some hilarious detail you forgot that will make you laugh again. (Bravo is scheduled to tape her next special in Portland, Ore., on March 4, by the way.)
So, will you buy Griffin’s book? Do you think it will outsell Chelsea Handler’s Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea? And what do you want to read about? I want to know more about her childhood, the general struggles of life as a female comic, her failed marriage, and her friendship with Jennifer Coolidge (if I’m being specific).
P.S. For anyone who thinks Griffin is no longer on the D-List, she guest stars on The CW’s Privileged tonight. (I love the show, but any CW guest-starring gig is D-List.)
More Kathy Griffin:
Kathy Griffin: Live from Madison Square Garden
Kathy Griffin: The Most Annoying Riotous Irritating Honest Shameless Savvy Polarizing Woman in Hollywood
Q&A: Chatty Kathy
Kathy Griffin takes the EW Pop Culture Personality Test
Welcome to this week’s edition of EW’s New Music Roundup,aregular post highlighting the "Download This" track recommendationsfrom the latest crop of music reviews found in Entertainment Weekly.All songs are from albums that are in stores now, and most are readilyavailable via iTunes, eMusic, or similar services. Enjoy — and be sureto share with your fellow readers if you’ve got opinions on any of thefollowing albums or singles…
Staff Web Pick of the Week: Beck’s "Replica" video
If Beck’s "Gamma Ray" redux video — the one with Big Love’s Chloe Sevigny dancin’ her tail off — was a kaleidoscopic explosion of color and images, then "Replica" is decidedly the opposite. The video, his latest off Modern Guilt, echoes the original "Gamma Ray" video in terms of its explorations with black and white color, light and dark, and geometrical shapes — with only short, fleeting glances of the singer himself. The video looks and feels like art, and is a stunning reminder that nobody makes music videos like Beck these days.
Barack Obama has been the President of the United States of America for a little over a month now, and in that short time, he’s done a lot: He’s gotten an economic recovery plan through Congress, he’s announced several new foreign-policy initiatives, and he’s preempted primetime TV programming on two occasions — with a press conference a few weeks ago and tonight’s State of the Union-ish address at 9 p.m. Eastern. Barack!
Obama may have been dubbed "President Rock Star" by a certain weekly entertainment magazine, but who knew he’d so quickly turn into a TV star, too? Not that I’m complaining. Usually, these prexy pep talks feel like an annoying hindrance to watching The Mentalist (which, ahem, you can see next week, at its regularly scheduled time), but given the economic crisis, I’m actually kinda looking forward to hearing what Obama’s going to say tonight. What about you, PopWatchers? Do you endorse all this Presidential preemption, or will it be getting your veto?
Who can resist the allure of knocking around L.A. the week of the Oscars and getting serenaded by the likes of Sheryl Crow, Chicago, and Earth, Wind and Fire? If this TMZ report is true, certainly not the folks at Northern Trust, a Chicago-based bank that received $1.6 billion in government bailout money, according to the AP. After spending millions to sponsor a PGA event, the bank allegedly flew hundreds of clients and employees out to L.A., put them up in expensive hotels, and then treated them to private concerts and dinners in exclusive locations like an airport hanger.
Now, it’s one thing to watch the Hollywood revelry and find a little refuge while you and the rest of the world are grappling with an insane economic crisis. It’s quite another thing to feel like you’ve paid for other people to join the revelry! Talk about a reversal of this year’s rags-to-riches, Slumdog Millionaire, warm-fuzzy Oscar feelings. Does this put anyone else off, or am I being too sensitive?
