Al’s Top 40 of 2009: #10-#1

Just in case you did not follow via Facebook updates.  Here are Al’s Top 10 of 2009:

#10) “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” by Weezer

#9) “Screen Test” by Envy Corps

#8) “Cornerstone” by Arctic Monkeys

#7) “Velvet” by The Big Pink

#6) “James” by Camera Obscura

#5) “Help I’m Alive” by Metric

#4) “So Human” by Lady Sovereign

#3) “1901″ by Phoenix

#2) “The Fixer” by Pearl Jam

#1) “Zero” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Category: Music  |  Time: 3:14 pm (CST)  |  Comments Off  |  

Al’s Top 40 of 2009: #20-#11

I hope we’ve all been taking notes.  There will be a quiz.  If you’ve been absent, you can fill in your worksheet with these answers:

20) “Black Magic” by Magic Wands

19) “A Whole Lot Better” by Brendan Benson

18) “The Reeling” by Passion Pit

17) “Heartbeat Radio” by Sondre Lerche

16) “How You Like Me Now” by The Heavy

15) “Think I Need It Too” by Echo & The Bunnymen

14) “Blood Bank” by Bon Iver

13) “One Wing” by Wilco

12) “Trouble Weights A Ton” by Dan Auerbach

11) “Beginner’s Luck” by The Eels

Category: Music  |  Time: 10:38 am (CST)  |  Comments Off  |  

Al’s Top 40 of 2009: #30-#21

We are at the halfway mark of counting down Al’s favorite tunes of 2009 on The Scope Facebook page.  Here is a recap of the second quarter of songs:

30) “Loaded” by The Idle Hands

29) “I Wonder Who We Are” by The Clientele

28) “Drown In The Now” by Crystal Method featuring Matisyahu

27) “Last One to Die” by Rancid

26) “Don’t Haunt This Place” by The Rural Alberta Advantage

25) “Twilight Omens” by Franz Ferdinand

24) “I Know What I Am” by Band of Skulls

23) “Never Forget You” by Noisettes

22) “No Wedding Cake” by Fol Chen

21) “So Far Around the Bend” by The National

Category: Music  |  Time: 12:34 am (CST)  |  Comments Off  |  

Al’s Top 40 of 2009: #40-#31

If you have not been following Al’s Top 40 of 2009 on Facebook, here is what you have missed:

40) “Teen Beast” by Los Straitjackets

39) “Show Me How This Thing Works” by Cracker

38) “Fitz and the Dizzyspells” by Andrew Bird

37) “The Great Defector” by Bell X1

36) “Smoke Bros” by Amazing Baby

35) “Complicated Shadows” by Elvis Costello

34) “Sugarfoot” by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

33) “The Calculation” by Regina Spektor

32) “The Box” by 1990s

31) “Roman History” by Pet Lions

Category: Music, Reviews  |  Time: 4:19 pm (CST)  |  Comments Off  |  

Al’s Top 40 of 2009 Coming Soon to The Scope Show

No, Al has not hi-jacked The Scope Show from Jared, Adam, and Shane.  He is simply here to take part in everyone’s favorite December past time- making lists.  We will discuss and debate some of the tunes we heard during 2009.  You can tell Al that all his music sucks and remind him that we are not in the 1990’s anymore when some nostalgic bands make his list of 40 over the uber-cool trendy bands that you like (don’t worry Candlebox and Ugly Kid Joe didn’t crack the list this year).

Category: Music, Reviews  |  Time: 10:10 am (CST)  |  Comments: 3  |  

Micro Toy Review: G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Action Figures

Snake EyesG.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Action Figures
Hasbro

3 stars3 stars

2007 Marks the 25th Anniversary of the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” line. To commemorate the event, Hasbro released all new sculpted 3 3/4″ figures based on the more popular characters such as: Duke, Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, Gung-Ho, Roadblock, Cobra Commander, Destro, Baroness, and Cobra Enemy Trooper. These figures feature more articulation and are reminiscent of their original incarnations.

Are the G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary action figures worth your time?
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Category: Reviews  |  Time: 9:53 pm (CST)  |  Comments Off  |  

Micro Movie Review: Live Free or Die Hard

Live Free or Die Hard PosterLive Free or Die Hard
20th Century Fox
1 3/4 stars1 3/4 Stars

Live Free or Die Hard is the fourth installment in the Die Hard film series. It stars veteran actor Bruce Willis as John McClane, the hero of the first three films. The film takes place some 19 years after the first film, and sees McClane face a gang of Internet terrorists led by Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant.) McClane doesn’t face the baddies alone, however. He’s forced to protect and eventually team up with nerdy computer hacker Matt Farrell (Justin Long, Ed, Jeepers Creepers, The Mac Guy.) Together, they must take out the bad guys, rescue McClane’s daughter, and make sure the baddies don’t wipe out the Internet.

Is Live Free or Die Hard worth your time?
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Category: Movie, Reviews  |  Time: 3:59 pm (CST)  |  Comments: 1  |  

Micro Music Review: Sky Blue Sky

skybluesky_thumbnailSky Blue Sky
Wilco
Nonesuch Records

2 stars2 stars

Wilco turns back the clock in their latest release Sky Blue Sky. In homage to 70s rock, Wilco strips the bells and whistles found on previous albums and puts out their most organic album since their 1995 debut A.M. Lyrically, Jeff Tweedy doesn’t mess around with vague lyrics that are left up to interpretation. They are pleasant, straight forward, and get directly to the point.

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Category: Music, Reviews  |  Time: 7:36 pm (CST)  |  Comments: 3  |  

TV Review: Saturday Night Live 2006-2007

SNLSaturday Night Live 2006-2007
NBC Saturday 11:30E/10:30C
1 3/4 stars1 3/4 stars

The 2006-2007 season of Saturday Night Live was one of change. Weekend Update anchor Tina Fey (along with Rachel Dratch) left the show to focus on 30 Rock while Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, and Finesse Mitchell were let go due to massive budget cuts.

This left a lean and mean cast of eleven, with Seth Meyers taking over the coveted Weekend Update co-anchor position. But the big question remained: could this small cast overcome these changes and succeed after a number of uneven seasons?

Before that’s answered, let’s take a quick look at each individual along with some other key aspects of SNL.
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Category: Reviews, TV  |  Time: 9:28 am (CST)  |  Comments: 1  |  

Micro Videogame Review: Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360)

Guitar Hero IIGuitar Hero II
Xbox 360
Red Octane

3 1/2 stars3 1/2 stars

Guitar Hero II is the sequel to the incredibly popular Guitar Hero. In this game, players wield a guitar-shaped peripheral as the primary controller. The gameplay is similar to other Harmonix music games, in that the player must play scrolling notes to complete a song. In the case of Guitar Hero, the player must use the guitar peripheral to play the scrolling notes the corresponding fret button on the guitar neck and simultaneously pressing the strum bar.

The Xbox 360 version of GHII features enhanced graphics over the PlayStation 2 version as well as an additional 10 songs over the standard 64 tunes.

Is Guitar Hero II worth your time?
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Category: Reviews, Videogame  |  Time: 12:01 am (CST)  |  Comments Off  |