Blogcritics Author: Jonathan Medina

There's Something About Fav-ruh: Brett's a Jet

Jonathan Medina — Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:52:49 EDT

It's official: Brett Favre is a Jet. I'm happy for Brett, but how will everyone else involved end up looking when it's all said and done?
Today, so much is suddenly official. Pineapple Express is officially not quite as awesome as Knocked Up, but it is also officially a great movie and arguably the funniest of the year thus far. The Olympics have already begun. And best of all, we can officially look forward to not having to hear about the Brett Favre saga ever again. Of course we...

Interview with Michael Ian Black - Comedian, Actor and Author of My Custom Van...

Jonathan Medina — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 05:58:00 EDT

Cult comedy hero Michael Ian Black talks about his new book... and the other 739 projects he's working on right now.
Michael Ian Black has definitely made his mark by acting on television over the years. From the State to Ed to Stella and his appearances on VH1's I Love... series, the man has become a cult hero for many of us who wonder why he hasn't quite become as much of a household name as we expected he'd be by now. It's through no lack of...

Music Review: Top 50 Albums of 2007 Pt. V (1-10)

Jonathan Medina — Sun, 6 Apr 2008 08:17:56 EDT

Here is the best of the best of 2007, the finest year for music in 13 years.
Welcome to the fifth and final part of my look back at the fifty best albums of last year: the Top Ten Albums of 2007.Being that 2007 was one of the best years for music in my lifetime (1975-present), I decided to use a play on titles of some of the greatest albums of all time from the likes of the Beatles, the Smiths, Public Enemy, the Flaming...

Music Review: Top 50 Albums of 2007 Pt. IV (11-20)

Jonathan Medina — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:09:57 EDT

The ten best albums are yet to be unveiled, but these ten here are nothing to sneeze at either. What a year...
Welcome to part four of my look back at the amazing music year that was 2007. After these ten, you will see the top ten, but as you could probably gather by how low some of your other favorites ranked on my top 50, these ten albums are just as essential as the top ten. Everything in the top 50 is worth owning, but these are part of the upper...

Music Review: Top 100 Albums of 2007 Pt. III (21-30)

Jonathan Medina — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:44:22 EDT

Episode 3 of the series continues to document the amazing year of music that was '07 with some familiar faces and a few new ones.
Welcome to Part III of my look back at the fifty best albums of 2007. Don't worry. I won't be using any gimmicks this time around. This won't be in 3D. It's just the same old story and the same old song and dance, my friends. And from this point on, the entry will be Steven Tyler-free.Part II was another reminder of how amazing a...

Music Review: Top 50 Albums of 2007 Pt. II (31-40)

Jonathan Medina — Fri, 7 Mar 2008 23:08:48 EST

Round number two of my top 50 albums of 2007--the best 365 days of music in nearly 15 years.
Welcome to Part II of my look back at the fifty best albums of 2007.The first six years of the 21st century were hit or miss, when it comes to music and, well, to other stuff... But 2007 was simply magnificent. Just look at my first installment. Marquee names like Jay-Z, Kanye West, Spoon, Wilco and Bright Eyes barely cracking the top 50? Their...

Music Review: Top 50 Albums of 2007 Pt. I (41-50)

Jonathan Medina — Sat, 1 Mar 2008 17:52:12 EST

Installment one of my top 50 albums of 2007--the best music year of the century thus far.
The good news is that 2007 may have been the best music year of the century so far. The bad news is that 2008 will now almost certainly suck in comparison and based on the current trend, we won't see another year of this magnitude until at least 2014. If you were listening to the radio, you probably didn't notice. But that's why I'm...

The Fall (And Rise) of the Hawaii Warriors

Jonathan Medina — Sat, 5 Jan 2008 01:36:17 EST

A Hawaiian's take on the utterly disappointing 2008 Allstate Sugar Bowl in which Georgia defeated Hawaii 41-10.
Contrary to popular belief, Hawaiian sugar is not always sweet.On New Years Day, a game that could have changed the face of Hawaii football and athletics in general, instead left the eternally misunderstood, ignored, and disrespected sports program back at square one.At the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Western Athletic Conference...

Concert Review: Ween - Rialto Theatre, Tuscon, AZ, 11/4/2007

Jonathan Medina — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:44:58 EST

The unclassifiable band known as Ween brought their strange magic to Tucson's Rialto Theater.
I first saw Ween perform live in concert at Nimitz Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii on October 18, 1997 when they opened for Los Lobos. They played an impassioned and astonishing set non-stop for about 35 minutes before stopping to apologize for not being able to play longer. They could feel our pain. A good number of us had come to the show primarily...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Music Review: Bruce McCulloch - Shame-Based Man

Jonathan Medina — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 08:51:26 EDT

This is the first in what I hope to be a long, ongoing series of albums I think everyone should hear before they leave this mortal coil.Bruce McCullochShame-Based ManAtlantic Records, 1995This may just be the best comedy album ever made. Maybe that's because it's more than a comedy album. It packs so much original punch and it has countless ideas that you wish you'd come up with first. Most of these tracks are songs, but don't think Adam Sandler. This is more along the lines of George Carlin on acid. Or Tenacious D lite. This record should've propelled Bruce into super-stardom, but unfortunately, it still hasn't even been heard by that many people. Even after all these years. The former Kids in the Hall cast member constantly delights with unrivaled intelligent silliness, poignancy and black, and more importantly, brilliant humor. On the simple, yet lovely "Grade 8", McCulloch gives you a quick rundown of his drug years. On one of the most genius ideas I've ever come across, on the amazing "Stalking", BM wonders what it would be like if a woman ran into the guy who was stalking her in a normal, real-life situation. They have a friendly, if awkward conversation, culminating with the hilarious explanation as to why he has chosen her as "the one". On "Doors", Bruce channels his inner Jim Morrison and explains exactly how one becomes a Doors fan: They don't. They're born Doors fans. In another brilliant turn, he gives you specific, detailed instructions on how to find out if you are, in fact, a Doors fan. Before I laid ears on this epic and essential song, it had never hit me that the Doors had no bass player."Lift Me Up" recaps a homoerotic encounter that the artist had with a husky gentleman he met at the airport lounge. A surprisingly romantic, if all over the place rundown that leads up to some shaky, yet exquisite harmonizing from the two melancholic lovers."Answering Machine" is a simple, goofy and pleasing ode to his... answering machine, of course. I could painfully relate to all the lyrics. Everyone has screened their phone calls before, but I'm hardpressed to think of anyone who dodges people with more savvy than Mr. McCulloch and I.For fans of Kids in the Hall, the album will be essential because it features a recorded version of "Daves I Know", which originally appeared on the seminal sketch comedy series.Near the end of the album, the party momentarily transforms into a somber, but refreshing wake. In "Vigil", Bruce McCulloch tells a story full of depth that still catches me off guard to this day. He briefly touches on the Kurt Cobain vigil and discusses his thoughts on what a vigil actually is. This should have been the last track, but put something this strong on any part of the CD and it will still touch you.Ultimately, it's sad to know that this will never be a huge mainstream success, but it's rewarding to know that I have been able to find a piece of 'out there' art that speaks directly to me, and makes me laugh and think like not many other comedians can. (see: Richard Pryor and George Carlin. Pretty astounding company there, Bruce. Congrats.) I know there must be thousands of people out there who feel exactly the same way I do about this riveting release. I just haven't met them yet. So I hope I can turn a few more people onto this, because I'd love to hear what they think of it. And I'd love to see this get a lot more attention. Even if ten people who would've never heard this, were it not for me, get this and love this, then the world will be a better place. Or at least funnier. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Hopefully I've helped sell a few copies of this for you, Bruce. You deserve it more than maybe even you know.

Jonathan Medina is a screenwriter, songwriter and journalist specializing in sports and music. He is currently writing Rock N' Roll Grad School - a book about how music changed his life. He is also an aspiring actor and stand-up comedian and shares his life with Stephanie in Tucson, Arizona. His hope is that his words could be music to your eyes, and the partial soundtrack to your online life.