Santo's "Funhouse" Review

P!nk
Funhouse
4.5/5

Hearbreak is a Motherf#%*er. That was the original title of Pink's 5th studio album, before retailers threatened not to sell her album because of its explicit title. Though the title was changed, the theme remains intact. Funhouse is a nearperfect album that showcases Pink's exquisite vocals and her niche for writing emotional, catchy, and heartwrenching tracks while still having 'fun' with her in-your-face, uptempo, pop/rock gems.

On the revelatory first single, the smash party track, "So What", Pink taunts & teases with infectious 'Na na na na na's' and sings "I guess I just lost my husband, I don't know where he went, So I'm gonna drink my money, I'm not gonna pay his rent," which is an obvious reference to her divorce to motorcross Carey Hart. The Max Martin (Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson) produced track became her first solo #1 ever, making it the biggest hit of her career.

Though the album's name is "Funhouse," most of the tracks are dark, depressing and sometimes even a bit haunting, even on the uptempos, like "Bad Influence," a bouncy, dark, upbeat track about partying a lot with your friends or the title track in which she compares her deteriorating relationship to a funhouse filled with evil clowns.

Pink really soars on the tracks where she displays her vulnerability, like on the Danja produced second single, "Sober," which is a poignant song about vices and sobriety or the playful sounding plead to her boyfriend, "Please Don't Leave Me," which has Pink begging her boyfriend not to leave her, regardless of her faults. By far, the album's standout track is the beautiful, acoustic, power ballad, "I Don't Believe You," which features the best vocal performance of the entire album.

The album isn't without its faults. The generic and recycled sounding, "It's All Your Fault" seems like it was taken directly from Kelly Clarkson's pile of leftovers whereas "Mean," even with it's intriguing lyrics, leaves much to be desired melodically. Despite these minor missteps, Pink still manages to keep it moving and has managed to create one of the year's best pop albums and quite possibly, the best album of her career.

Janet Jackson Spoofs MTV Shows, Discipline In Stores NOW!

She's hilarious.

Anyways, Janet Jackson's new album Discipline hits stores today. Who's buying it?



The reviews are in and well, they're pretty mixed:

RollingStone

Janet Jackson has abandoned the plastic R&B of 2006's 20 Y.O. for a sexier brand of digitized megapop. On her Def Jam debut, the beats are as crass and processed as Jackson's heavy breathing, so she sounds more like a sex droid than a blow-up doll, which is way hotter — for starters, sex droids show more initiative. (3.5/5)

All Music

The likes of "Never Letchu Go" (a sweet, glistening ballad), "Luv" (carrying a brisk, feel-good clap-and-bounce), "Rollercoaster" (suitably jittery and giddy), and "Can't B Good" (practically a descendent of her brother Michael's "Can't Help It," with that gentle and affecting self-examination that only a Jackson can do so well) are as innocent, universal, and inviting as anything else in Janet's past. (4/5)

Entertainment Weekly

Indeed, though Jackson boasts in ''Feedback'' that her swagger is ''heavy like a first day period,'' it's more like a bloody mess. (C-)

Daily News

While it would hardly be wise to go the "Unplugged" route with a singer like this, here Jackson's voice sounds more treated than a sewage plant. Her vocals seem as worked over, and airbrushed, as Joan Collins' face in extreme closeup. (D)

I've never been big on Janet. Sure, I LOVE some of her classic albums; Control, Rhythm Nation, Janet; but a lot of those records came out when I was 3-5 years old so I didn't really get to appreciate them till years later. I did not like like her All 4 U album. Damita Jo... meh. And 20 Y.0 was a hot mess. But now she's releasing her 10th studio album and I must admit I like what I hear. Obviously, it's NOTHING compared to the classics I previously mentioned, NOTHING. While I doubt that she's going to go multi-platinum or have any #1 hits with this album, after the many failed efforts of attempting to make a "comeback," Ms. Jackson has at least managed to make a solid R&B album. Gotta give her props for that. [B-]

Santo's Favs: Can't B Good, Discipline, So Much Betta, Rock With U, Greatest X

"The Beginning Of The End" Review (Lost)

After many months of anticipation, Lost returned last night with an explosive season premiere. And boy oh boy, did I love it.

The episode starts off with with a police chase featuring none other than funny man Hurley. We're then shown Jack Shepherd, who's watching the police chase from his TV, while making a drink. The first question that popped into my head was, "Is this a flash-back or a flash-forward?" My question was quickly answered when Hurley is chased down and yells out that he is one of the "Oceanic Six." What the fuck? Breathe.

Back on the island, the castaways are filled with joy due to the fact that they're finally about to be rescued. Yea right. Desmond finally returns from his underwater voyage and gives them all the bad news;
1. Charlie is dead.
2. The rescue team isn't who they say they are.
All chaos breaks loose.

In one of the flash forwards, we see that Hurley is back at the mental institution, only this time it appears he actually wants to be there. He receives a visit from a man who says he's a lawyer from Oceanic and offers him a better place to stay at. When Hurley asks him for his business card, the man didn't have one. Hurley gets really suspicious to which the man asks him:

"Are they still alive?"
"What?"
"You heard me."
Hurley went nuts and the man quickly left.
Who is this man and what the hell did he want?

Hurley has been seeing flashes which have been terrifying him. We later learn that it is Charlie who he keeps seeing and running away from.

There are many "what the hell" moments in the episode. For example, in one of the flash-forwards, we're shown Jack visiting Hurley and after a how-you-been type conversation, Hurley confesses, "I don't think we did the right thing. I think it wants us to come back. I should have never left with Locke and them. I should have stayed with you, Jack!" Whoa.

Back on the island, the the gang is split into two groups. One led by Locke (accompanied by Sawyer, Ben and Hurley), who decides to believe Charlie's message (that the rescuers aren't who they say they are) and hide out in the island. Everyone else left with Jack in hopes of getting saved. The episode concludes when a helicopter arrives and a guy parachutes onto the island. He sees Jack and Kate and turns to Jack and asks him, "Are you Jack?"

I was left with so many damn questions, which is part in reason of why I love Lost so fucking much.

- The Oceanic Six? So six people manage to leave the island. We already know Jack, Kate and now Hurley. Who are the other three?

- Who was the person in the coffin from the season three finale? Juliet? Hurley?

- Why does Hurley regret siding with Locke's group? He managed to escape the island so what's the deal?

What a good episode. 16.1 million viewers tuned in last night, that's what I'm talking about! I'm disappointed that we're only going to be getting eight episodes this season. But if this episode is any indication of what the next seven are going to be like, I'm fucking ready. I'm so ready. [A-]

The CW's "Reaper"

I had the opportunity to watch the pilot episode of the CW's upcoming show "Reaper" and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. I for one am not big on comedies; horror is more my genre. But in a season where every network is trying to make their own version of "Heroes," the CW's "Reaper" keeps it simple and fresh, without relying to much on special effects.

"Reaper" stars Sam (Bret Harrison, "Grounded for Life") as a shy 20 something year old guy who is chosen to become Satan's accomplice. He never finished college and is content with being "a failure" because it doesn't require much work. Once he finds out that there is more to his life than working at a convenience store, he slowly gains motivation and a new look on his once boring life. His beautiful co-worker Andi (Missy Peregrym, "Heroes") is the girl of his dreams but his lack of confidence stops him from asking her out. The role of Andi was originally played by Nikki Reed but she was replaced by Missy Peregrym for reasons unknown. The characters in the show are very personable and the interaction between the cast is believable, though I can't help but wonder if Missy was the right girl for the role. I think Nikki would've done the role more justice but it's still too early to tell.

It's going to be interesting to see what the writers are going to do with the show. Are they going to take the "monster-of-the-week" route or are they going to focus more on the characters and season long storylines? We'll have to wait and see.

I'm not going to sit here and give you a whole synopsis of the show or background info on all the characters. I'm also not going to sit here and say "This IS THE BEST SHOW EVER!" or "THIS IS A MUST SEE!" But what I will tell you is that I watched the show expecting it to be a total mess (like most CW shows) and found it to be very entertaining. Give it a shot. "Reaper" premieres this Tuesday at 9PM Eastern on the CW. [B+]

Click here to watch the trailer.

"Reaper" is from ABC Studios with executive producers Michele Fazeka ("Ed," "Law & Order, Special Victims Unit"), Tara Butters ("Ed," "Law & Order, Special Victims Unit"), Mark Gordon ("Grey's Anatomy," Criminal Minds"), Deborah Spera ("Criminal Minds") and Tom Spezialy ("Desperate Housewives").