Archives by Topic: Geekforce Reserves
SomerVaudeville, featuring The Pluto Tapes
Just after he finishes playing the first verse of Paula Abdul’s seminal 1988 hit “Straight Up,” Pluto Tapes guitarist Andy Hicks pauses and asks the audience at Johnny D’s in Somerville, Massachusetts, “Really?” The crowd responds with boisterous cheer, and Hicks obliges them with an absolutely fantastic cover. It’s both amusing (how could a Paula Abdul song on guitar not be?) and surprisingly compelling. Stripped of synths and slick 80s production, “Straight Up” is the perfect capper for Hicks’s set of suburban alt-rock/powerpop. It’s the sort of song that you can imagine the disaffected narrator of Hicks’s songs identifying with, much to his surprise, on some drunken post-breakup evening. “You tell him, Paula,” says the narrator in my imagined scenario, a bottle of Sam Adams in hand. “A buh-buh-buh-bye, buh-buh-buh-bye!”
******
Under the moniker of The Pluto Tapes, my friend Andy Hicks (along with his guitar and his iPod) closed out the first act of last night’s inaugural SomerVaudeville show, put on by Theatre@First, a Davis Square-based drama troupe. His three-song set (plus the “Straight Up” encore) was the highlight of the evening for me, but the rest of the show was amazing as well. From banjo-playing Uncle Shoe to storyteller Justin Werfel to the sheer awesomeness of Can-Can Revolution, I was entertained all night long, and the memories of last night are sure to be what will power me through my tiredness today (I got home at quarter past midnight and left the house again at 5:25 a.m.).
Oh, and I may or may not have had my Flip Video camera on me, and I may or may not have filmed portions of the show, and I may or may not be posting the resulting video at some point in the next week.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for something to listen to and you don’t already own it, buy a copy of Dead Planets Tell No Tales, the first album by The Pluto Tapes, on iTunes.
Donna Martin To Own A Cool Store In The New 90210
Following the lead of Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, aka Donna Martin, is joining the cast of the new 90210 television series. In case you missed it, Guest Geek Bethany Snyder posted her top five Donna-centric episodes earlier today. I wonder if any episodes from the new series will nudge their way onto Bethany’s list…
(If it makes any of you out there feel any better about me and my status as a “true” geek, I was listening to “We’re In This Together,” by Nine Inch Nails as I typed this article.)
Beverly Hills Breakdown: The Donna Martin Top Five
I present to you the first in my series of 90210 top fives. There is no secret formula or logic behind these lists, only my continuing obsession for the best teen drama ever (not including Buffy, of course), and whatever plot lines stick out most in my mind. So here are my top five Donna Martin-centric episodes.
5) “Ode to Joy” (2000) - The season finale, in which Donna and David get married. A lot of people don’t enjoy the final few seasons of the show, when the characters are all grown up, having babies, working, getting hitched. But these are my favorite seasons. I ended up totally in love with David and Donna, and shed many tears during their nuptials. Even if Brandon was so rude as to only appear via video tape. Whatev.
4) “The Girl Who Cried Wolf, Law and Disorder, Making Amends” (1998) - Donna gets addicted to painkillers! After a bad car accident! She steals pills! From her dad’s office! She steals fashion designs! She passes out on the floor! She gets taken to the hospital! Then she’s okay. Phew.
3) “P.S. I Love You Part 2” (1995) - Donna’s bad-boy musician boyfriend Ray shoves her down a flight of stairs. She ends up with an injured arm, yet continues to date Ray for a good portion on season 6. Good judgement, Martin!
2) “Graduation Day Part 2” (1997) - Donna gives up the big V to David. Incredibly uncomfortable scene involving white lingerie and candles. I don’t want to think about it any more than I have to. But in a Donna Top Five, you have to include this pivotal moment.
1) “Something in the Air” (1993) - Donna gets drunk at the prom and gets in big trouble at school: she can’t graduate, and has to go summer school. But never fear, the gang’s all here! The student body marches on the school board meeting, and voila! Ms. Martin graduates with the rest of the class of 1993. Say it with me: “Donna Martin graduates! Donna Martin graduates!”
Kelly Taylor Returns to West Beverly High
A quickie-post for our good friend, Bethany: Ain’t It Cool News is reporting that Kelly Taylor will be the new guidance counselor at West Beverly High. That’s right, Jennie Garth is joining the cast of the 90210 sequel/spinoff.
Discuss.
Geek Force FiveCast 013 (Video)
I attended the inaugural meeting of New Hampshire Media Makers on Sunday, May 11. This is me geeking out about that. Links to many of the cool people I met can be found in the video, or else at the various blogs that have covered the event: 1, 2, and 3. Roger Goun took photos (as did several others), and his photos can be found here.
