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A Little Nerd Music

Two friends. One podcast. Countless opinions.

March 31st, 2015

3/31/2015

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Episode 027 - “Don’t Stop Believin’”

Episode Length: 1:37:18

Episode Summary:

In our twenty-seventh episode, we start off with a bit of Fandom News where we congratulate Vin Diesel on the new addition to his family and we talk about the awesomeness that is the growing list of actors involved with the live-action Beauty and the Beast movie (Emma Thompson, Jean Dujardin, and Josh Gad, to name a few).  We talk about the future of the comic book fandom (the future of X-Men without Jennifer Lawrence and the Russo brothers taking on The Avengers), and Kelly mourns the possible loss of one of her favorite characters on The Flash.  We congratulate James Corden on his premiere week as the host of the Late Late Show and talk about the uprising following the departure of Zayn Malik from One Direction’s current tour.  (Sorry guys, this was recorded before he chose to leave the band.)  We share our obsessions with Empire and Jimmy Fallon before delving into our main discussion: a farewell to Glee.  We share some of our favorite songs, moments, and episodes and laugh about some of the more ridiculous moments of the series.  As usual, Kelly makes it depressing by talking way too much about Cory Monteith and Christina tries to make sense of the season and a half that she missed out on.  We share our thoughts on The Glee Project, marketing of the show, and what it meant for the show to lose Cory in the midst of it all.  Christina also asks the question: Why did the minor characters miss so much school?  Where did they go??  Our Episode MVP is a bittersweet announcement as we remember Cory Monteith and Finn Hudson. We share our Glee-themed Ship Moments and remind you where you can all follow us, like us, email us, and read all the latest news.  Tune in for our next episode where we discuss shipping and announce the first ever ALNM Shipping Bracket! 

This week’s featured music:


“Jessie’s Girl” from Glee episode 1x18 (Laryngitis) by Cory Monteith, original artist: Rick Springfield

“I Lived” from Glee episode 6x13 (Dreams Come True) by the cast of Glee, original artist: OneRepublic
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 "AMERICAN CANDY" by THE MAINE (AN ALBUM REVIEW)

3/31/2015

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What Is It: One of my favorite bands in the world, The Maine, has released their fifth studio album!  This follows on the heels of eleven other music releases from the boys: Stay Up Get Down (EP, 2006), The Way We Talk (EP, 2007), Can't Stop Won't Stop (2008), ...And A Happy New Year (EP, 2008), Life Like This (Limited Edition EP, 2009), Black and White (2010), In Darkness and In Light (EP, 2010), Pioneer (2012), Good Love (EP, 2012) Forever Halloween (2013), and Imaginary Numbers (EP, 2014).

The iTunes Link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/american-candy/id963813221?ls=1

My experience: This album came out yesterday and I didn't want to just profile it for Music Monday because it deserves so much more than that!  I have been listening to this album on repeat since I downloaded it last night and it is so amazing.  I can't express how excited I am to hear the sound that made me fall in love with The Maine back in 2007.  It definitely takes me back to their more upbeat and fun albums like Can't Stop Won't Stop and Black and White.  What makes the release of this album even better for me is that I will get to see them perform this music live this weekend at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA.

Favorite Song Off the Album: "Another Night on Mars" - This song initially stood out to me because of it's upbeat and pop-like intro.  It's not something that The Maine often does, so when they do, I tend to sit up and take notice.  For me, the pull of certain songs always come in the lyrics.  I'm all about listening to the lyrics and understanding what the song is about and what it means to you as a listener or to the band as writers.  The lyrics of this song just remind me of having a great time with friends in college and that's why I like it so much.  Lyrics like "With friends like ours/Anywhere is home" make me happy to have exactly those types of friends.  And then there's the lyrics "This one goes out to my closest friends/The ones who make me feel less alien/I do not think I would be here if not for them/See all the nights in sh***y bars/Throwing up in taxi cars/Or on our backs under the stars/As we sing, as we sang" which would speak to anyone who's just had one of those nights where the only person who understands and takes care of them are their closest friends.  The upbeat tempo and messages of cherishing your closest friends like family and knowing your friends always have your back just make me really love this song.

Why You (Our Listeners) Should Hear This: Why not?  There's always room for new music in your life.  If you've never heard of The Maine, I highly recommend them.  I can't pinpoint what it is about this band that makes me love them so much, but just something about their sound makes you happy and makes you feel all the things that they are feeling when they were writing the songs.  I think my favorite thing about this band is that with each song that they play at concerts, they tell you why they wrote a certain song and it helps you connect with the music that much more.  I have been anxiously awaiting American Candy since I last saw the band in October of 2014 and I am so excited that it is finally here!  Do yourself a favor and listen to this band and this album because I promise, from ALNM's resident "Music Snob", you will not regret that decision.

The Future: John O'Callaghan, Kennedy Brock, Pat Kirch, Jared Monaco, and Garrett Nickelsen AKA the boys of the band celebrate the release of the album TONIGHT with a free acoustic set in their hometown of Tempe, AZ at the Tempe Marketplace with their good friends (and another of my favorite bands) This Century.  The American Candy Tour (featuring 8123 artists Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, and The Technicolors) officially begins on April 3rd in Tempe, AZ and will conclude on May 20th in San Antonio, TX before the band makes their way to Manila, Philippines.  Check out their website for tour dates!
-- Kelly Lee
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Music Monday

3/30/2015

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The Album: The original Broadway cast recording of Newsies

The iTunes Link: 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/newsies-original-broadway/id511301954

Where you heard it first: On Broadway!  Although it's based on the 1992 Disney movie of the same name, the music from the Broadway musical is different and, in my opinion, better than the original.  

Why it’s been stuck in your head: Jeremy Jordan, Ben Fankhauser, and Kara Lindsay bring the lead roles of this amazing Broadway musical and Disney classic to life.  As we've said before on the podcast, it certainly makes a difference when the music is sung by people who can actually sing.  If you grew up in the 90's, you're already familiar with many of these great songs like "King of New York" and "Carrying the Banner", but there's nothing quite like listening to Jeremy Jordan belt out that last note in "Santa Fe".

Why you recommend it to our listeners: I don't think I can say enough good things about this musical.  After seeing it on Broadway with Corey Cott playing Jack Kelly, Ben Fankhauser as Davey, and Kara Lindsay as Katherine, it quickly became my favorite musical.  I highly recommend this music to our listeners, especially if you love musical theatre.  
-- Kelly Lee
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CINDERELLA (SPOILER-FREE) REVIEW

3/29/2015

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What Is It: Cinderella is the newest adaptation of the classic folktale.  As many of us know, Cinderella is the story of a young girl who, after her parents die, is left in the care of her evil stepmother and two stepsisters.  While names and pronunciations change with each different language and version of the story, most of us know Cinderella as the classic 1950 Disney film. In this version of the tale, Cinderella is played by Downton Abbey's Lily James, Lady Tremaine is played by Academy Award Winner Cate Blanchett, and Prince Charming (known as Prince Kit in this film) is played by Game of Thrones star Richard Madden.  The movie also stars Stellan Skarsgaard as the Grand Duke, Hayley Atwell as Ella's mother, and Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother.


My experience: I have to admit, the only reason I wanted to see this movie in the theatre was because of the "Frozen Fever" short before the film, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this film.  The costumes and set decoration for a fantasy film set in this era are always enjoyable and this did not disappoint.  The film was directed by Kenneth Branagh, and I have come to realize that I always enjoys the movies he directs.  While the sense of fantasy is no longer a pull for me and I think that Cinderella is one of those Disney princesses who thinks she needs a man in order to make her happy, I was surprised by how much Lily James made me feel for Ella.  James' portrayal of Ella seemed like a strong young woman who always kept her mother close to her heart and kept in mind something that her mother taught her: "Have courage and be kind".  It is this phrase that is the driving force behind most of her actions in the film and what makes her a more likeable Cinderella for me.

Why You Should See It: If you love Disney and fairytales as much as I do, I strongly suggest you see this film.  It has brought a new twist to the story with this version as Ella learns how to be herself, first and foremost, and from there, she learns how to grow and how to make herself as happy as she can.  The Prince is also a much more likeable character.  After spending time with Ella, he realizes that he is not only attracted to her for her beauty, but for her kind personality and her strong sense of self.  This is definitely a fairytale for the modern young woman.

The Future: The movie was released on March 13th and I expect will last quite a bit longer in the theatres.  You can see Lily James in the upcoming film Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies alongside former Doctor, Matt Smith and Game of Thrones star Lena Headey due out later this year, and you can see Hayley Atwell and Stellan Skarsgaard reprise their roles as Agent Peggy Carter and Dr. Erik Selvig in The Avengers: Age of Ultron which hits theatres on May 1st.
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Fandom Friday

3/27/2015

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Zayn Malik officially leaves British boy band One Direction.  The internet subsequently explodes as millions of teens mourn.

TV News

  • The OC's Adam Brody joins CBS pilot from the writers of Modern Family
  • The HBO series Looking starring Jonathan Groff is cancelled after two seasons, it's not over yet!  The story lines will be resolved in a full-length movie to air on the network.
  • The first photo from the Louisiana set of Ryan Murphy's Scream Queens hits the web and Lea Michele is definitely no longer Rachel Berry
  • Pretty Little Liars finally reveals the mysterious A
  • HBO releases the first trailer of J.K. Rowling's Casual Vacancy.  The miniseries begins on April 29th
  • NBC orders First Dates, a new reality show from producer Ellen DeGeneres
  • Melissa Joan Hart will guest star on The Mysteries of Laura as a radio show host mimicking the popular podcast  Serial
  • The Mentalist's Owain Yeoman is cast as Supergirl's first villain of the series
  • Patti Labelle is confirmed to return for Empire Season 2
  • NBC orders Coach revival to series with Craig T. Nelson returning
  • NBC sets their summer premiere dates!
  • Season 6 of Downton Abbey will be its last
  • Fans of The OC rejoice!  Autumn Reeser (who played Taylor Townsend on the popular 2003 show) will appear on Hart of Dixie with fellow OC alum Rachel Bilson
  • The talented cast of The Flash finally sing!  A gospel version of the theme song to Firefly, that is
  • Nickelodeon reveals the young cast of it's School of Rock television series
  • The Walking Dead spin-off series is titled Fear the Walking Dead
Movie News
  • The first look of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is released
  • The new Fantastic Four movie poster shows off the team's superpowers, but the internet accidentally leaks the first photo of "The Thing" AKA Ben Grimm, played by Jamie Bell
  • Vivica A. Fox has confirmed that she will return for Independence Day 2
  • Rumors suggest that former Doctor, Matt Smith, might be up for the lead role, Newt Scamander, in the movie adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  • How I Met Your Mother alum, Jason Segel is writer and co-director of the Lego Movie spin-off
  • Steven Spielberg will direct the film adaptation of Ernest Cline's sci-fi debut novel, Ready Player One
  • Idris Elba may be the new villain in Star Trek 3
  • Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight, Exodus: Gods and Kings) is rumored to be cast as the lead in Star Wars: Rogue One
  • X-Men: Apocalypse casts newcomer Lana Condor as Jubilee
  • Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson will not return for the movie's sequels
  • The greatest live-action adaptation ever, Beauty and the Beast, casts Broadway legend and six-time Tony Award winning actress Audra McDonald as Wardrobe
  • Ryan Reynolds debuts his Deadpool costume!
  • The $2 million Indiegogo campaign for a second Super Troopers film has been surpassed, ensuring that there will be a sequel more than 14 years after the original was released
  • The teaser trailer for the upcoming James Bond film, Spectre, will premiere tonight!
Misc News
  • Darren Criss becomes the third Glee star to have his Twitter hacked within a year. Hack activity suggests that popular ship CrissColfer (shipping him with costar Chris Colfer) is real.
  • J.K. Rowling has the perfect response to a fan who still can't seem to wrap their head around the fact that Dumbledore is gay.
  • Netflix introduces "God Mode" for desktop users
  • Tony Award nominee Ramin Karimloo to end his stint as Jean Valjean in Broadway's Les Miserables at the end of August
  • George Lucas mocks FOX News on The Daily Show
  • Remaining members of One Direction, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan, speak out about bandmate Zayn Malik's departure from the group
  • In good deeds this week, Ed Sheeran crashes the wedding of a deserving young couple and it's adorable!
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Throwback Thursday

3/26/2015

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Let’s go back to: The X-Files.  Because the truth is out there.

The X-Files premiered on Fox on September 10, 1993 starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as the now iconic Mulder and Scully.  Mulder was the believer and the head of the X-Files (unsolved paranormal cases) at the FBI while Scully was the skeptic assigned to keep him in line.  The series had a significant story arc concerning alien abduction and a looming apocalypse that spanned all nine seasons as well as Monster-of-the-Week episodes.  It is generally considered one of the best television series in history and TV Guide selected it as the number two top cult show ever following Star Trek.  The series lead to two big screen movies, two spinoff television shows, a comic book series, and it has recently been announced a six part X-Files miniseries will begin shooting this year.

Why it means something to you or to our podcast: I was too young when The X-Files initially came on the air (I can only imagine the nightmares I would have had).  I discovered the show post college during an extended flu battle that left me with only my couch and Netflix for entertainment.  It really is one of the classics of the science fiction genre, and a precursor in spirit to the popular CW series Supernatural.  In fact, Kim Manners, one of the original Supernatural producers, was a producer on the show.  You’ll constantly be finding connections between the two shows once you are familiar with both.  But I really really recommend checking The X-Files out when you’ve got a good chunk of time, because you won’t want to stop.  And there are some episodes you may not want to sleep after.

Where can you find it now?: The entire series can be found on DVD or on Netflix.  So go give it a try!

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March 24th, 2015

3/24/2015

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Episode 026 - “Get In Loser, We're Going Podcasting”

Episode Length: 1:52:27

Episode Summary:

In our twenty-sixth episode, we start off with Fandom News, where we mourn the losses of Leonard Nimoy and Sam Simon.  We briefly touch on the latest updates from the Harry Potter fandom and recent good deeds by Adam Levine, Chris Evans, and Chris Pratt.  The latest casting news, movie updates (Zoolander!  Ghostbusters!), and the new Supergirl television series are also topics of discussion.  We delve a little more in depth into Once Upon A Time before obsessing over the latest Spider-Man rumors and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  In our main discussion, we discuss all things movies.  We talk about our favorite movies, our movie crushes, our favorite sidekicks, our guilty pleasures, and so much more.  The MVP of this episode is The Plastics (who are so fetch).  We also fawn over the Captain Swan ship in a rare moment of agreement in the Ship Moments section.  To conclude, as always, we tell you all the different ways to keep up to date on all things ALNM.  And tune into our next episode, which will be focused on shipping and will introduce the very first ALNM Shipping Bracket.

This week’s featured music:

“Beautiful” from Mean Girls by Daniel Franzese

“Raiders March” from Indiana Jones by John Williams
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Music Monday

3/23/2015

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The Band: The Maine (again)

The Song: "Miles Away"

Where you heard it first: I am absolutely obsessed with how amazing this band is.  I follow them on Twitter and they released this song a few weeks ago.  I had to wait for my turn at Music Monday to share this awesomeness with the world.

Why it’s been stuck in your head: This song is so catchy and I said before, I love this new album because The Maine has brought themselves back to what made them great in the first place.  Returning to their original sound will be so refreshing after their adventures into trying out different sounds for the band.  While there's never been an album from them that I didn't like, I have a feeling I'm going to love them even more after this one.  Be sure to check out their new album "American Candy" when it hits iTunes next week!

Why you recommend it to our listeners: I have to say that until I discovered this band, I'd never heard anything quite like them before.  If you're a 90's kid like I am, I would compare their sound to that of Everclear, another great band that didn't get the credit they deserved.  If you want something new to listen to, I strongly recommend these five great musicians from Chandler, Arizona.  In fact, I even turned someone named Christina onto how great The Maine is.  If you want to be as cool as us, do yourself a favor and listen to this song.

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Fandom Friday 

3/20/2015

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TV News
  • *SPOILER ALERT!* Major character death on this week's The Flash.  *Only click the link if you want to know who it is!*
  • Matt Bomer, Cheyenne Jackson, and Wes Bentley join American Horror Story: Hotel and Jessica Lange says goodbye to the AHS franchise
  • X-Factor New Zealand judges get fired after bullying a contestant
  • Dominic Purcell (The Flash's Heatwave) has joined the Flarrow spinoff
  • The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon's popular segment Lip Sync Battles has spawned it's own show on Spike hosted by LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen.  The star-studded trailer premiered on Buzzfeed earlier this week.
  • Sleepy Hollow is renewed for Season 3
  • Dancing with the Stars premieres to record low ratings
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden premieres next week.  Be sure to tune in Monday on CBS!
  • NBC and executive producer of The Voice order the pilot of a songwriting competition show featuring Adam Levine
  • Glee ends tonight, but this is just the beginning for many of it's stars.  Where is everyone going next?
Movie News
  • Josh Gad and Kristen Bell are confirmed for Frozen 2!
  • Alexandre Desplat to score the first Star Wars spinoff movie Rogue One
  • The cast of the live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast continues to get better and better as they add Josh Gad as Lefou, Kevin Kline as Maurice, and Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts
  • Alan Menken, the composer of the 1991 hand-drawn version of Beauty and the Beast is set to return to score it's live-action adaptation.  The movie will contain old favorite songs as well as new songs penned by Menken and Tim Rice, who wrote for the Broadway adaptation.
  • Disney sets a release date for their Beauty and the Beast film: March 17, 2017!
  • First teaser trailer and teaser poster are released for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.  The final installment of the franchise hits theatres on November 18, 2015.
  • Teaser poster for the newest James Bond film, Spectre, is released
  • The first trailer is released for the film adaptation of John Green's novel Paper Towns starring Cara Delevigne and Nat Wolff
  • The new Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer is everything.
Misc News
  • Microsoft is finally retiring Internet Explorer and the internet explodes with clever memes.
  • Apple is preparing to be the next big cable provider (oh good....because they're not already trying to take over the world...)
  • Facebook to pair with Venmo to make your friends pay you back even faster!
  • Nintendo to release a new gaming system called the NX with capability to sync with your smartphone.
  • Ryan Reynolds finally confirms the name of his and Blake Lively's daughter: James Reynolds.
  • Zayn Malik of One Direction quits the band's tour due to "stress" after cheating rumors surface.
  • Frustrated with technical difficulties during a concert, Adam Levine chucks his mic onto the stage and it accidentally hits a fan in the face.  He makes it up to her by pulling her up onto the stage and apologizing profusely.
  • Matt Lauer pulls an epic prank on Ellen DeGeneres and it's hilarious!
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Throwback Thursday

3/19/2015

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Let's go back to: Glee 1x01, "Pilot"
A cultural phenomenon that started in 2008, riding the coattails of a little Disney Channel Movie called High School Musical, this show followed a group of outcasts with nothing in common who try to escape high school archetypes by joining their glee club.  It is within the walls of the choir room that they are able to come out of their shells and find who they really are while working to pursue their dreams.

Why it means something to you or this podcast: Tomorrow night, the show comes to an end with a two-hour series finale after six seasons and 121 episodes.  This show means something to me because it started right around the time I met someone named Christina in the dorms at our university.  I even remember the first night that Christina watched the pilot episode right after Kris Allen had won American Idol season 8.  I know that this show has gone significantly downhill in the recent years, but something must be said for the show that helped revive musicals for everyone.  Glee has been a platform for people like Chris Colfer, Lea Michele, and Darren Criss to become household names.  They've had concert tours, books, and over 700 musical numbers performed on the show.  It has also brought Broadway stars like Jonathan Groff, Kristin Chenoweth, and Idina Menzel onto the show, displaying the truly amazing talent that Broadway has to offer.  Two years ago, the cast and crew of the show suffered a devastating loss when one of their stars, Cory Monteith, passed away, changing the outcome of the show significantly and changing the cast and crew as well.  Glee has been such a part of people's lives in the past years.  Not only has it been an uplifting show at times, teaching viewers that following their dreams could have great outcomes, but it has also allowing parents to talk to their children about heavy subjects like homosexuality, bullying, drugs, domestic violence, and depression.  For the people who watched this show, it will always be a part of us and we will always remember it's fallen star, Cory Monteith.

Where can you find it now: Glee can be found streaming on Netflix and Amazon Instant Video and reruns of the show can be watched on the Oxygen channel.  You can catch Lea Michele in creator Ryan Murphy's new pet project Scream Queens, coming to FOX next fall with Emma Roberts and Joe Mangianello and New York Times' best-selling author Chris Colfer will be releasing two more books in his Land of Stories series, the first of which is set to be released in July of this year.  This talented group of young actors will continue to inspire us and create amazing new things.  Be sure to tune in tomorrow night for a special two-hour series finale!  In the meantime, let's flashback to this iconic musical performance from the pilot episode. 

-- Kelly Lee
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