Culture Consumption: D A W N S, Frank + Derol, Nightmare River Band, Jaws, The New Normal, And Big Brother

Hello and welcome to Culture Consumption, our weekly look at some of the best music, movies, television, books, and pop culture!

Song Of The Week

D A W N S, "So Help Me God"

Albums Of The Week

Frank + Derol, Frank + Derol (EP)
Codi Caraco and Brandi Cyrus make up Frank + Derol, a talented duo who released their 4-song debut EP earlier this month. The songs range from pure addictive pop ("Let It Go") to haunting but no less addictive lo-fi ("Barely Love You Too"). This EP serves as a welcome introduction to the band and and makes me long for a full-length debut.
Consume Now: "Let It Go" and "Barely Love You Too"
Nightmare River Band, Last Goodbye
I don't know how you would classify this band -- country? folk? one of these with an alt- modifier? -- but I really don't care. I was a big fan of their 2009 debut, Call The Cops!, and I'm an even bigger fan of Last Goodbye, which takes everything great about the debut and adds a certain maturity to their sound. And nowhere is this more evident than in the anthem "Last Goodbye," a five-minute sing-along about heartbreak.
Consume Now: "Last Goodbye," "Walk On," "Goodbye To Your Friends, "Why Don't You Love Me?"

Book Of The Week

Jaws: Memories From Martha's Vineyard
Jaws was my Star Wars. I loved everything about this movie. If it's on TV (even heavily edited) when I'm flipping channels, I'll leave it on until the end. And if you're like me and Jaws is your religion when it comes to movies, then Jaws: Memories From Martha's Vineyard will be your Bible. It's 312 pages of images, newspaper clippings, pieces of the script, set designs, and first-person accounts from those involved with the filming. It's an astoundingly massive, in-depth look at one of the greatest movies of all time and by the time you're through devouring it, you might actually believe you were on set during the filming. Plus, since it weighs approximately twenty-five pounds, you can also use it to bludgeon your attacker if you ever find yourself face-to-face with a great white. Bonus!

Television Shows Of The Week

Big Brother
I don't watch Big Brother. Seriously, I don't. But if I did (once again, I don't), I would have to say that Dan is one of the wiliest and most clever reality show contestants I have ever seen (But once again, I don't watch Big Brother. I don't even know who this Dan person is.).
The New Normal
The New Normal is the funniest new show I've seen this season. The little girl, the gay couple, the pregnant mom -- I love them all. But by far the funniest character, and one of the funniest characters on a network sitcom in years, is Ellen Barkin's Nana. She's unapologetically un-PC and every word out of her mouth will simultaneously make you cringe and laugh.

It's The Great White, Charlie Brown

I found out something today. My love of Jaws is far greater than my hatred of Peanuts because this mashup by Charles Forsman brought a smile to my face:

[source]

You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

I was reading this article about the discovery of the original Jaws shark when I learned two things:

1. The shark in Jaws was named "Bruce." Which made me understand why the shark in Finding Nemo was named "Bruce."
   
   
2. They're looking at doing a Real 3-D remake of the original Jaws film. With TRACY MORGAN in the Richard Dreyfuss role.

Now, full disclaimer, I've never seen Jaws all the way thru - I've seen bits and pieces. Travesty, I know. I've been seriously considering a Jaws movie-thon for a while now. It's a July 4th film so maybe, just maybe that's what we'll do on the 4th. Anyway, I did see Jaws 3 years ago when I was a kid. It was on TV and the scene when they're trapped in the aquarium glass tube thing scared the crap out of me - I even had nightmares which had never happened to me before. So it doesn't surprise me that, with the current 3-D fad that Jaws is under consideration for a 3-D version. I think stupid monster movies are really the only reason to see a film in 3-D.

But to remake the original, with Tracy Morgan? Really? I think Tracy is freaking GENIUS on 30 Rock. And he's coming out here with a stand up show that I hope to catch. But replacing Richard Dreyfuss? Really? I just don't see Tracy doing serious or scary.

Here's the original 1975 trailer. I love the old timey voiceover work.



Anyone excited to see Jaws redone in Cameron's Real 3-D? Anyone else out there think that they should have just released Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus in 3-D as originally planned and been done with it? If you some how missed it, here's the trailer for that flick. It's pretty much the best thing about the movie. Trust me, I Netflixed it. And yes, that's THE Deborah ("Electric Youth") Gibson in it.