Author: News on Shuffle

Profile: Jack Bauer

*Caution! Huge amounts of spoilers for last night’s 24 follow. Read at your own risk. You have been warned!*

The following is a somewhat stream-of-consciousness thought process on the events of last night’s 24 and what it means for Jack Bauer. Sorry if it is hard to follow. I’ll try to be as coherent as possible.

After watching last night’s episode of 24, I had a few thoughts on the character of Jack Bauer.

First: this guy is seriously not allowed to be happy!

Case in point: after failing his mission of protecting President Hassan (and looking dejected as hell for it) Jack goes home and actually is seen being happy with a member of the opposite sex. Long-time friends rejoice, and yet are hesitant. Seeing Jack and Renee being all kinds of happy with each other, I couldn’t help but think, “But Jack isn’t allowed to be happy.” It didn’t take long for the writers to prove me right.

As the bullets started flying, I knew one of them had to hit Renee. I also knew there was slim chance she would actually make it to the hospital and survive (but was still hopeful). What little hope I had was dashed though when the doctors came out of the OR almost immediately after going in. “It’s too soon,” I thought, as a sat up in my seat. I knew she was dead even before the doctors said so. The look on Jack’s face was that of a man who had been broken. It was the best and worst kind of hurt puppy dog face ever. It was the kind of face that makes you whimper (both inside and out). I actually almost cried for him. After everything this man has done for his country, after everything he has sacrificed, couldn’t he once, just once, get a happy ending?! No, I said. This was too much. Hasn’t he suffered enough?

Apparently not.

My only hope is that Jack avenges Renee’s death and gets some solace in that. It isn’t the same as having someone to grow old and retire with, though. And for that, Jack, I am truly sorry.

Switchfoot New Single Announced

With the success of their first single “Mess of Me” fresh in their minds, Switchfoot has announced that their new single will be The Sound. Here is the message they sent their fans:


Thanks to all of you who helped get ‘Mess Of Me’ to #12 on the
Alternative Rock Chart. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and you all played a huge role in the song’s success.Our next single is going to be “The Sound (John M. Perkins’ Blues)”, and the official release date at radio is April 26th. Here’s what Jon
had to say about the song: “The Sound (John Perkin’s Blues) is a very important song
for us as a band. I see so much hatred and fear around me, I see so many people living
out their pain. I hear it on the radio. I see it in the headlines. John Perkin’s story needs
to be heard. This song was inspired by a man who sang a louder song than hatred. In
a world where we are defined by our differences, Mr. Perkin’s life of service and
compassion is a tangible demonstration of what it means to live a life of love. Love is
the loudest song we could sing. Louder than racism. Louder than fear. Louder than
hatred. John Perkin’s said it right, love is the final fight. We’re excited to hear this song
on the radio, louder than pain.” Let’s do this!

And here is the video for that single:

Contest – Win Either Merlin or Survivors DVD

Are you as obsessed with all things British as I am. This lovely blogger is holding a contest from now till Monday, April 12th. You can win 1 of 2 DVDs. Personally I love both shows and think either one would be one for the “win” column.

Interested?
Then follow the trail here for a chance to get the goods. (Also the title link for this entry)

Doctor Who Countdown

As the US premiere of Doctor Who comes ever closer, Americans everywhere are just trying to not get spoiled. BBC America offers a countdown widget to keep track of the date (as if we weren’t doing that on our own anyway).

The widget also offers a videos, interviews, and a photo gallery to have fun with while you wait. Speaking of fun, did you hear about the new DW game that they are making? It’s going to be four interactive episodes, the first of which will be available in June. Especially cool for those of us who ever wanted to be the Doctor (or his companion).

*Doctor Who Series 5 premieres April 17th on BBC America. Leading up to that all day will be the end of Series 4 starting with The Doctor’s Daughter all the way through to Journey’s End, followed by all the specials (The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, Waters of Mars, and The End of Time).*

Lollapalooza Lineup Announced

It was fun playing guessing games, but now the truth is out there. The lineup for this year’s Lollapalooza has been confirmed, as well as days for each band set to perform. So, are you ready?


You sure?

Alright then. Here it is:

Friday, August 6th:
Lady Gaga
The Strokes
Jimmy Cliff
Hot Chip
The Black Keys
Devo
New Pornographers
Chromeo
Dirty Projectors
Mavis Staples
Matt & Kim
Drive-By Truckers
Jamie Lidell
Fuck Buttons
Raphael Saadiq
The Walkmen
Los Amigos Invisbles
The Big Pink
Cymabalks Eat Guitars
B.o.B
Balkan Beat BOx
Wavves
American Bang
The Constellations
Javelin
Foxy Shazam
Semi Precious Weapons
My Dear Disco
The Ettes
Jukebox The Ghost
These United States
2ManyDJs
Tiga
Erol Alkan
Caspa
Peanut Butter Wolf
Cut Copy (DJ)
Ana Sia
FreeSol
BBU Vonnegutt

Saturday, August 7th:
Green Day
Phoenix
Social Distortion
Spoon
Cut Copy
Erykah Badu
Slightly Stoopid
Grizzly Bear
Gogol Bordello
Metric
AFI
The xx
Blues Traveler
Edward Sharpe
Deer Tick
Stars
Wild Beasts
Rogue Wave
Dawes
Warpaint
The Soft Pack
Rebelution
Harlem
Mimicking Birds
Kissaway Trail
Morning Benders
Royal Bangs
Dan Black
Dragonette
Skybox
Mynameisjohnmichael
Empire of the Sun
Perry Farrell
Rusko
Kaskade
Wolfgang Gartner
Joachim Garraud
Beats Antique
Steve Porter
Ancient Astronauts
DJ Mel
BBU Vonnegutt
Only Children
Lance Herbstrong

Sunday, August 8th:
Soundgarden
Arcade Fire
MGMT
The National
Cypress Hill
Wolfmother
Yeasayer
X Japan
MUTEMATH
The Temper Trap
Frightened Rabbit
Blitzen Trapper
The Cribs
Minus THe Bear
Switchfoot
Mumford & Sons
The Dodos
Hockey
The Antlers
Ike Reilly
Company of Thieves
Nneka
Miniature Tigers
HEALTH
Violent Soho
Freelance Whales
Band of Heathens
Shawn Fisher
Neon Hitch
Digitalism
Felix da Housecat
Flosstradamus
Mexican Institute of Sound
Dirty South
Nervo
Didi Gutman (Brazilian Girls)
Team Bayside High
Dani Deahl

I love all the headliners, especially Green Day, Arcade Fire, and MGMT. My biggest and best surprise though was Jukebox the Ghost being included. This band seems to be having quite a good year. They already have been on one tour and have plans for another this summer. Oh, and don’t forget the trip they took to SXSW, I’m sure they won’t. Jukebox have a couple New York dates coming up, including: May 29th at Bowery Ballroom and June 12th at Music Hall of Williamsburg.



Free At Last

Free at last! Free at last!

So says Amanda Palmer, just before announcing she has finally been dropped from her label. Palmer, known to her fans as AFP, has been fighting with the label for a few years now. She started with them back when she was lead singer for The Dresden Dolls. The relationship was good at first but slowly deteriorated until she was left with very little freedom over her music and what she could do with it. Now she has the ability to make these choices on her own. Her first act of celebratory free-ness: sharing a free download with her fans. Even though she is glad to be able to shed the label’s skin, Palmer still wishes it to be known that there is no hostility held towards Roadrunner Records. She writes a letter to them in her blog which remembers the good times before things went south. Just another example of our little AFP taking the high road and showing some class.

Kudos.

Remembering Kurt Cobain

On this day in 1994, Kurt Cobain died at the age of 27. Cobain was the lead singer of the band, Nirvana. Nirvana has always been one of my favorite bands, and Smells Like Teen Spirit is possibly one of my favorite songs. It is one of the first songs I can remember thinking “Ooh, I love this song” every time it came on the radio. Many people, I’m sure, feel the same way. Many more can probably remember where they were when Kurt Cobain died. (Being too young to remember this myself, I equate it to remembering where I was when I found out Heath Ledger had died). The band is legendary, as is Cobain, and enjoyed much success while it was around. Dave Grohl (their drummer) would go on to form his own band, Foo Fighters, which has also enjoyed much success. He has also recently formed another band, Them Crooked Vultures. Both bands have plans for future albums and a tour.

And now, a tribute:

Google Changes It’s Name

April Fools?

Yeah, today is April Fool’s Day, but Google is one of the few places where this is amusing. Apparently they have changed their name to Topeka as a way to recognize the town changing their name to Google. The story has been linked to if you want the full scoop. Even though I am not a fan of April Fool’s Day, I still found this amusing. As for the rest of it, you can all have fun trying to decide what is real today but I am going to sink myself into some fictional world where I know what is real and what isn’t. (This probably means catching up on Supernatural).
Have a happy Fool’s Day, everyone.
And if you are in the Philly area then you should be spending it with Fooling April. The band has their Beatles Tribute/charity show tonight.

Doctor Who News

Lots of Doctor Who related tidbits with the new series ready to debut soon.

For those of us in the US, we have two events to look forward to. One is Monday April 12th at The Paley Center. This is going to be offered to members of the Center first before the general public is allowed in. The event is free but seating is limited so they ask you to reserve a seat. Details can be found here. If you can’t make it to this smaller event, there is a bigger one happening at Village East Cinema on April 14th. This is also free but you’re going to want to get there early as it is first come, first served. Details courtesy of BBC America.

In other news, Doctor Who Magazine has won a Guinness World Record as the Longest Running Magazine Based on a Television Series. It joins Doctor Who as the longest running Sci-fi series and most successful Sci-fi series in 2009. The show is brilliant and deserves all the recognition it has been getting recently. Congratulations!
Doctor Who Series 5 premieres April 3 in the UK and April 17th in the US.

Artic Monkeys Can’t Stop the Beat

Artic Monkeys have been touring and enjoying the success of their new album Humbug for awhile now. So of course when the tour wraps up they are going to take a much needed break, right?

Wrong!

The band plans to get right back into the studio to start working on their next project. There are no details available yet, except their plans to do this. For those of us (like me) who realized their love for the band after they had already passed their home town on the tour, this is exciting news. Let me do the math for you:

new album = another tour

At least it probably does. Either way, new music from this great band is nothing to sneeze at. After all, they weren’t listed as one of my top bands of 2009 for nothing.