Jukebox the Ghost held a preview show for their upcoming album “Everything Under the Sun on July 13th at 92Y Tribeca. The band is no stranger to the city, and it showed in another enthusiastic crowd. The night was filled with mostly songs from the new album, but there were a few fan favorites selected for the second half of the show. First the crowd got to hear the new album in its entirety. The band thanked it’s audience for sitting through songs they were not familiar with, but there was really no need. Many of the songs had been played at previous shows (to the point where many in the audience knew some of the words), and the whole album sounds like it will be well worth the wait fans have had to endure. The album will be available to the general public on September 7th, but the single “Empire” is available for download now on their website (linked to above) or the widget at the top of the main page of this blog.
Happy Birthday, Fran Kranz
News on Shuffle would like to send a very happy birthday shout-out to Fran Kranz. Kranz has been in a number of things, but was most recently Topher on Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse”. This was the first thing I had seen him in (or so I thought), but he was apparently also in the movie “The Village” – looks like I’m going to have to go back and watch it again.
As a little birthday present to both him and his fans, here is a video of some of Topher’s best lines.
Fran Kranz can next be seen in the movie “The Cabins in the Woods” – also written by Joss Whedon. I guess all things really do lead to Joss…
World Cup News – Final Report
This weekend saw the last World Cup action for this year’s tournament. Germany won their Third Place match against Uruguay yesterday by a score of 3-2. Spain beat Netherlands in the final 1-0 in overtime. Just when it looked like they were going into penalty kicks, Spain scored the only goal of the match. That makes my predictions rating at 50% (I predicted Germany’s win but not Spain).
Anyone else predict this year’s winners correctly? Or were you surprised by the outcome? Sound off in the comments section below.
Blame It On Rio Bravo, Happy Town
Alright, kids, this is it. Here is my recap of the Happy Town finale. I know what you’re thinking, it was way too short. Eight episodes just isn’t enough time for a show to fully develop. Well tell that to ABC, folks. Actually, don’t waste your breath. I’m sure plenty of you have written letters and even joined the campaign to #SaveHappyTown but it hasn’t done any good. Let’s just enjoy what little time we’ve got left instead of crying over spilt milk. So, without further ado, here is my recap off the series finale of Happy Town – Blame It On Rio Bravo. It goes without saying that there will be huge amounts of SPOILERS, so you should probably stop reading now and watch the episode on ABC before you go any further. You have been warned.
Last week we finally learned what was up with Henley and the mystery hammer – apparently it was used by Peggy Haplin to kill Alice Conroy. (Too bad we’ll never find out why Haplin killed her *grumble* She goes to the police station to try to tell Tommy about this, but he is too busy dealing with Magic Man related things to listen to some crazy girl he’s never met before tell him wild tales of murder and mystery. They have just arrested Dan Farmer as their prime suspect, and Greggy Stiviletto has the whole town outside the police station ready to dispense some homemade justice. Tommy calls for back-up but our friend Mr. Grieves calls pretending to be Conroy and cancels it. You want a mystery that could have been good for a couple of seasons, then look no further than this guy. And while we’re talking mystery – why does Greggy want the Magic Man dead so bad?! Whatever the reason, they have the wrong guy so it really doesn’t matter. Amy Acker, I mean, Rachel takes one look at him and confirms his claim that he is not their man. Back to square one, I guess.
The police may know that Farmer is innocent, but the rest of the town doesn’t. They still want his head on a platter and have taken a hostage to try to persuade the police to cooperate. Said hostage is John Haplin, who probably wishes he were anywhere other than where he is right now. Merritt Grieves works his silver tongue and gets Haplin freed from the angry mob. Seriously, what is up with this guy?! Dude is an enigma wrapped in a puzzle and sprinkled with mystery sauce.
Things are pretty tense inside the police station, with both sides pointing their guns in each other’s faces. Round of applause for Tom Conroy Sr and his fantastic entrance on the scene: guns blazing with proclamations of his left hand working again. Right from the start he was the one who first dragged my attention to this show. Sure he was kinda crazy when we first met him, but that was part of what kept us interested. After all, crazy is totally the middle name of this show.
With the town finally dispersed, we send Farmer off in an ambulance, except it’s all part of an elaborate plan to help him escape. And Merritt Grieves is the one who helps him! I’m usually good at predicting these things but I did not see that one coming. Kudos for keeping me on my toes right up until the end.
With things settling down at the police station, Tommy confronts his father about his mother’s death. Daddy says something about the town being wicked and how things work here in Haplin, which is not the answer Tommy wants to here. Jr drives off to confront Peggy Haplin, while Sr drives off with Henley right on his tale. The tension builds as the Magic Man is about to finally be revealed. Or, it would build if it weren’t for their interesting taste in music on this show. In the final moments it is revealed that the Magic Man is *drumroll please*
Alice?!
Yes, it turns out that Alice has been alive the whole time and is really the Magic Man. Oh, and Tom Conroy knew this and never said anything. All because of some mystery in the town that was never fully explained. Georgia and Andrew were planning on leaving until Peggy told her grandson something about the family that changed his mind. And Henley? We still don’t know what her connection to the Magic Man was. We assume someone she cared about was one of the missing people but don’t know the full story. I’m glad the big mystery surrounding the identity of the Magic Man was revealed, but giving us a peak at what promised to be an interesting town that is oozing with more mysteries to share is just mean. The show had a lot of potential that will never be explored. It’s a shame really but that’s the way the game seems to be played these days.
What were your thoughts on the series finale (or the show in general)? Were you satisfied with what little we got, or is there something else you would liked to have seen before the curtain closed? Sound off in the comments section below.
Jukebox the Ghost – Summer News Edition
Summer may have been unbearably hot for us, but it is heating up in a good way for Jukebox the Ghost. The band has a new album that will be released September 7th on Yep Roc Records. It’s called “Everything Under the Sun” and you can snag a free download of “Empire” from their new website (which is currently under construction but has a link to the download in the bottom corner). The band will be appearing in NYC on July 13th for an intimate show at 92Y to preview the new album. If you’re not in the NY area (or just feel like traveling) they will be playing a few festivals – Lollapalooza in Chicago, Forecastle in Louisville, and FLO Fest in Leesburg, VA. And finally, there will be a full album release tour in the fall, so look for more news on that. Not excited yet? Maybe this will help:
Jukebox the Ghost – Everything Under the Sun from Eyestar Pictures on Vimeo.
World Cup News – The Final Showdown
After a month of soccer (or football, depending where you are from) taking over our lives, it all comes down to the final matches. With the semifinals over, we now know who will be competing for the #1 spot. Drum roll, please…
This year’s World Cup Final will be between Netherlands and Spain. The Third Place match will be between Uruguay and Germany. I was really hoping to get a Netherlands-Germany final, but this just means I can route for Netherlands and actually care about the Third Place match (Go Deutschland!).
Predictions: I don’t think Netherlands should have too many problems defeating Spain, but I knock on wood as I say that for fear of jinxing them. As for the third place match, Germany shouldn’t have too many problems defeating Uruguay (again, knocking on wood here).
What do you think about this year’s final? And who do you think will come out on top? Sound off in the comments section below.
The third place match is July 10th, and the final July 11th. Both matches air on ABC at 2:30pm.
Sports Round-up
Happy Independence Day, sports fans (and everyone else for that matter). Today’s post contains updates for both the World Cup and Wimbledon.
First up, the semifinals for World Cup will be July 6th & 7th. First will be Uruguay v Netherlands at 2:30 on the 6th. Germany v Spain will follow the next day. My predictions: Netherlands v Germany for the Final. More like I really hope that is the case, but it has a good chance at becoming a reality. Netherlands’ upset against Brazil blew the soccer world away (much like Germany blew Argentina away in their Quarterfinal match). I believe these are the two teams to watch out for.
Next, tennis – the Wimbledon finals were this weekend, and here are the results:
For the Ladies Final, Serena blew away Zvonareva on Saturday by a score of 6-3, 6-2. As for the Men’s Final, Nadal beat Berdych earlier today 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. I predicted both outcomes, but hoped for a better showing from Berdych. Even still, congrats to him for making it as far as he did, and congrats to all the players for their own achievements.
Thus concludes the sports round-up for today. Here is a little inspirational something to say Happy Birthday to my fellow Americans. It is a clip from the movie Independence Day.
Wimbledon Gentlemen’s & Ladies’ Finals
Well, folks, we’re finally here. The Wimbledon Finals are this weekend. For the Ladies, we get Zvonareva vs Serena Williams. I predict Serena should win this, but I wouldn’t be opposed to finally seeing someone new win for a change. As for the Gentlemen, their final match will be Berdych vs Nadal. I was really disappointed to see Murray go down in straight sets, especially since he looked strong throughout most of the match. He played his heart out though, so kudos to him anyway. Unfortunately his loss means British fans will have to wait even longer now to see one of their own make it to the Finals at Wimbledon.
Predictions: I think this is going to be Nadal’s year, but I also wouldn’t count Berdych out before the match has even started. After all, this is the guy who knocked Federer out in the Quarters, so he definitely is a force to be reckoned with.
Ladies Finals will be tomorrow, and Men’s Finals will be Sunday. Enjoy your weekend, tennis fans.
Dallas Alice Doesn’t Live Here in Happy Town Anymore
*Yada, yada, yada, SPOILERS AHEAD*
This week’s episode started with the aftermath of Big Dave’s death and some dead birds in the forest. While at Dave’s funeral, Tommy has a run-in with Mrs. Friddle that leaves questions as to whether his mother’s death was a natural one like he thought or if maybe something else happened to her that no one told him about. He brings these concerns to his father who tells him that at one point he had thought it was murder but eventually chalked it up to just needing someone else to blame for his loss. He says he eventually accepted her death, and Tommy should too. It looks like they are going to drop this story right up until the end – when Henley walks into the police station and hands Tommy the mystery hammer, claiming it is the weapon Peggy Haplin used to kill his mother. #shockoftheday So what should we ask first, why Peggy killed Alice or how the hell Mrs. Friddle knew about it? Both very good questions to add to the heaping pile of them this show has buried us in.
Going back a little to how Henley got the hammer back in the first place – with the help of her new best friend Merritt Grieves, of course! Henley has asked Grieves to help her break into Peggy Haplin’s home to retrieve the hammer. Since Grieves was invited to a party there, he says it shouldn’t be a problem. I loved the comment about being the only Brit at a Daughters of the American Revolution event. Anyone else find the funny in that one? Henley goes poking around the house only to be caught by Peggy Haplin. Based on how they were talking it seems they know each other from way back when, or at least know some of the same people. Will the mysteries surrounding this girl never cease? I sure hope we find out everything there is to know about her in a somewhat satisfying way before this whole thing wraps up next week. My only concern is that anything we do find out will feel too forced because of the shortened time-span. Back to the present though… Grieves eventually manages to get both the hammer and Henley away from the house. Peggy is none too happy to find out that she has been betrayed by someone she thought had cared about her. If I were Greives, I would watch out for the Queen Bee’s wrath.
So remember back in the previous episode when Dan Farmer told Georgia not to tell anyone about him or else? Well she totally ignores him and tells Tommy Conroy. She goes one step further though and fingers him as the Magic Man. Truth? Possibly. He definitely seems psycho enough that he could do something like this. Tommy works out a plan to tip Farmer off that they know about the trailer then follow him to see what he does next. Farmer must realize what they are up to though, because he blows up his truck to set the cop off his trail. He steals the Stiviletto’s truck and drives to the boarding house. He then proceeds to kidnap Dot Meadows and takes her to the woods where she had previously filed a police report on some dead birds (and you thought I had forgotten about them from the beginning of the episode, didn’t you?). Farmer takes Dot Meadows to the same spot Big Dave had found (where he thought the Magic Man had been hiding his victims). This makes it seem like he could very well be the man they are looking for. A couple townsfolk stumble upon the site, shoot him, and drag him to the police station. He claims he is not the Magic Man, just the one who is going to catch him and mumbles something about being “so close”. Looks like another wrong turn on the path to finding who the Magic Man is. Or is it…? At least we don’t have too much longer to wait, right?
Thus concludes this week’s recap of Happy Town. Next week was scheduled to be the series finale, but instead they have posted it online for us to watch now. Guess they have completely given up on the show and just don’t care anymore. Hopefully all our questions have at least been answered with some satisfaction. Feel free to leave any comments you might have on the show, as well as any questions you feel need answering. I’m going to wait to watch the finale, so please no spoilers on how it all ends until after I post my recap.
Happy Town – Questions and Antlers
Sorry for the late post here, but now that I’m done with summer classes it shouldn’t happen again. Perfect timing considering next week is going to be the series finale…
This is the recap for the June 16th episode. I’m watching last night’s episode today as well, so you’ll be getting that recap shortly. For now, enjoy this little flashback to events past and see if it connects any dots you might have missed on your own viewing. Of course it goes without saying that there will be plenty of SPOILERS for those who are even further behind than I am. Consider yourselves warned.
Last week we seemed to be getting closer to finally figuring out who the Magic Man is. Boy were we wrong there…
We picked up this week at the police station with John Haplin being questioned about the severed hand that showed up in the bread factory in a previous episode. They get interrupted by Mrs. Friddle who is there to accuse Dave Duncan of killing her husband. Because Tommy Conroy really thought he was keeping that one a secret forever, right? Conroy realizes it has gone too far when John Haplin is about to be charged with the crime, so he asks Dave to come into the station and confess. Dave asks for time so he can tell his mother and uses that as a chance to make a run for it. While running through the woods he falls through a hole underground that has seven cages and thinks he has found where the Magic Man was holding his victims. When he tries to show Tommy though, he can’t find the spot anymore and becomes extremely agitated. Well, that’s the nice way of putting it. Really he goes crazy and starts yelling how he’s not crazy and he’s not going to jail and Tommy is not going to be able to stop him. Tommy, realizing his friend has lost it, has no choice but to shoot him. It was kill or be killed, and no one wants to be killed, right?
The other big story has been Henley and all the mysteries that surround her. Merritt Grieves got involved last week when he said he would transport a briefcase for her. That briefcase was stolen en route with no clue as to who did it. Henley thinks she knows though – Greggy Stiviletto. She goes to confront him about this in an interesting way. I was always a little suspicious of Greggy, but the way Henley has him chained up makes me think she may actually be the crazier of the two of them. What the hell is this girls story?! Seriously, I never pictured Greggy to be the sane one in that pair. Eventually she gets him to talk and we find out he was just doing it because Peggy Haplin told him too. I guess being ordered by basically the Queen of the town is a good enough reason to do something.
The semi-new (but kinda sorta connected to the original) big story is the two kids stumbling on that trailer in the woods and getting trapped inside. It turns out the owner of said trailer is the same guy who kidnapped Georgia the first time around (although anyone else think of V for Vendetta when he was making the crepes in that one scene?). Georgia is now stuck alone in a trailer with the creepiest guy ever. “Where’s Andrew?” you ask. He’s chained to the outside of the trailer. Oh, and creep is actually Dan Farmer, police officer!!! I knew there was something off about that guy when we first met him way back in one of the first episodes. It turns out he is a psycho obsessed cop who is determined to find the Magic Man… by any means necessary. He does eventually let the kids go, but warns them what will happen if they tell anyone what he did to them.
For those who are curious, the song at the end of this episode was “Hand of Fate” by The Rolling Stones. With all of Dan Farmer’s talk about the hand of fate, I guess they thought it was appropriate.
That’s all I have to say for this one. Feel free to leave any comments you want, but more discussion about predictions for the finale will come in the recap for this week’s episode, so keep that in mind.