Society loves celebrities. But we especially love it when they cheat on their wives and then their wives beat the shit out of them with a golf club. I believe the Germans call this Schadenfreude- getting your jollies from other people’s misery. Or what is also known as the Crab Mentality, named after the phenomenon involving crabs in a pot that will pull each other down if any one tries to climb out.

The truth is Tiger was due for a knock down. I mean he is probably the greatest golfer of all time, he makes millions just showing up on the course, and he’s got a hot wife. That ain’t right. Meanwhile, the rest of us have to settle for mediocrity and flying coach. Someone needs to go down. It might as well be someone who is fabulously wealthy and has a hot wife.

A domestic throwdown is one of the few pleasures we, the huddled masses, can enjoy. So to all you celebrities out there. Keep doing what you do (cheating and doing drugs). But ask yourself this: Did I hide the golf clubs?

 Deathless by Throwdown

2009 (12 tracks, 54:26)

rock

Unashamed (2009)

Unashamed will play their comback show January 8th at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA. Other bands will be announced shortly. Tickets are now on sale here. Visit Unashamed on myspace here and read their full statement about regrouping with a new lineup as well as returning members, Jeff Jacquay (Vocals) and Bobby Canaday (Guitar). You can also follow them on Twitter here.

straight up, this is terrible. it doesn’t even work on a humor level. it just never stops and only gets more embarrassing as it goes on. fuck this band.

Throwdown- Deathless
released November 10,2009 on E1 Entertainment

Throwdown is a metalcore band that has roots in the Orange County, CA hardcore scene. This is their eight full-length album and first on E1 Entertainment. They are well known for their straight-edge stance on life and it shows in their lyrics and overall attitude. Some of their influences include Black Flag, Sepultura, Machine Head and Pantera. Tracks 2 and 3 start off with a time signature that includes thrashing drums, double bass and a breakdown. This time signature repeats throughout both songs. Formulaic but it works. Track 4 has an echo effect at the beginning before breaking from the formula with a slower, almost-bluesy feel to it. Track 5 is full of harmony with slow, prodding drums. The drums and tempo pick up in Track 11, which also has a discernible pattern to it. In conclusion, I feel that this album starts out formulaic and as it goes on, the band becomes comfortable enough to expand their range a bit. Out of all of their influences, I notice a strong similarity to Pantera but of course, the bands are quite different. I would recommend checking this out.

FCC: 1,6,8,9,10
Try: 3, *4*, 5, *11*

01. The Scythe
02. This Continuum
03. Tombs
04. The Blinding Light
05. Widowed
06. Headed South
07. Serpent Noose
08. Ouroboros Rising
09. Skeleton Vanguard
10. Pyre & Procession
11. Black Vatican
12. Burial At Sea

4/5

Here are this week’s new music releases:

2012 soundtrack album
Tori Amos – Midwinter Graces [CD/DVD]
Bon Jovi – The Circle [CD/DVD]
Brazos – Phosphorescent Blues
Ashley Brown – Speak Low [currently an MP3 download only; a CD version is scheduled for release on January 5, 2010]
Dashboard Confessional – Alter The Ending
Ray Davies and the Crouch End Festival Chorus – The Kinks Choral Collection
Echo & The Bunnymen – The Fountain
Flyleaf – Memento Mori
General Elektriks – Good City for Dreamers
Wyclef Jean – DJ Drama Presents Wyclef Jean – Toussaint St. Jean: From the Hut, to the Projects, to the Mansion
Katatonia – Night Is the New Day
Kidz Bop Kids – Kidz Bop Sings the Beatles
Pirate Radio soundtrack album
Stan Ridgway & Pietra Wexstun – Silly Songs for Kids, Volume One
Alejandro Sanz – Paraiso Express
Switchfoot – Hello Hurricane
Throwdown – Deathless
Wale – Attention: Deficit
Steve Wariner – Steve Wariner c.g.p., My Tribute to Chet Atkins

Written By: Jason Coldiron
(Rock/Metal Editor)

Label: E1 – Rating:

Track 1: “The Scythe” - The album begins with “The scythe.” It starts with an explosion of drums and guitars and takes off from there. A scream and guitar transition lead into the first verse. The growling commences and the song is off. The chorus brings some solid vocal work. “Reap what you sew, and come back to life.” Smooth, powerful, moving. This gives a good taste of what’s to come.

Track 2: “This Continuum” - A solid and powerful drum beat gets this song kick- started. It brings much more storytelling than I may have expected, but there’s still plenty of screaming to go around. Through two songs I’m really feeling a Slipknot/Godsmack feel to the vocals and guitars.

Track 3: “Tombs” - Begins with some ‘twisty’ guitars, leading into a solid riff with backing drums and bass. An evil, spoken word vocal track leads into the verse. Moving slower than the first two songs, this one is showing some of the band’s versatility. It gets me wondering what to expect from the rest of the album; more over the top metal or more balance? Can’t wait to find out.

Track 4: “The Blinding Light” - The lead in sound, which continues into the verse… I really can’t tell if it’s a guitar, keyboards, or some kind of synthesizer. In any event, it suits the song well. The song is well- paced, speeding and slowing in good time. This is a very moody piece that is more powerful in capturing the imagination than in actual execution. The screaming vocal of, “the blinding light” is the highlight. It’s a little piece that sticks with me long after the song is over. The guitar run at the end is a pleasant surprise.

Track 5: “Widowed” - This is the perfect song at the perfect time on this album. Moody, atmospheric, imaginative. Building in tension and amplitude. It goes a solid two minutes before any vocals come in, which had me thinking it was going to be a fully instrumental piece. When the vocals do come in, they are suited to the music perfectly. The pace picks up a bit, then slows and returns. This has to be my favorite track on the album.

Track 6: “Headed South” - Getting back to basics, the song takes off with machine- gun guitars and drums. Once again, the pace shifts a bit, ups and downs. Not really sure what to make of it, what direction it’s going. The parts that rock REALLY rock, the slower parts aren’t as coherent. That said, it still rocks hard and still keeps my attention. Around the midpoint of the song we get an outstanding guitar solo, followed two minutes later by probably the best guitar solo on the album. In my opinion, this is the best guitar work on the album.

Track 7: “Serpent Noose” - The highlight here is the harmonizing and melody. The pairing of the vocals and guitars together is seamless and smooth. The guitar solo is powerful without being intrusive. All the elements work in blending together.

Track 8: “Ouroborus Rising” - “Somewhere between love and sorrow there’s an ocean of lies. You and I may not see tomorrow, but we will never die.” The lyrics are fitting and at their best in this song. The vocals back them up and it is the lyrics that make this song great.

Track 9: “Skeleton Vanguard” - This song rocks, but it may get a bit lost. I’m not sure what was trying to be accomplished here. As it goes on though, it grows on me. The guitars start to get stuck in my head and the vocal progression is pretty strong. The big (and loud) finish makes the song worthwhile.

Track 10: “Pyre and Procession” - This has a ‘fight song’ feel to it. Bold and aggressive, rocking out. Good stuff here.

Track 11: “Black Vatican” - This is what I have been waiting for. Quick start with the drums. Smart and complicated guitars that chop and power through. Vocals that grab you and scream at you. It all comes together in this song as it kicks you in the balls and offers you seconds. Another ripping solo won’t let me turn away. It is a perfect set- up for the album’s big finish.

Track 12: “Burial at Sea” - Tension is built for the finale with a slow moving guitar opening. It builds and builds. The vocals come in and lead the guitars through their twists and turns. The final touches are put on the album before the guitars gradually fade out. “Burial at sea” is a fitting closer for this album.

All in all, this is a solid metal album. The vocals sound just familiar enough to draw me in and just original enough to keep me tuned in. The guitar work is versatile; simple and powerful at times, slower and more complicated at others. The drum and bass tracks are fitting and suit the music well. If I had one critique of the album I would say that some of the songs start to sound the same as they go on. That said, the album still rocks start to finish.

I give the album a three gun salute.

Like Throwdown? Check out: Slipknot, Godsmack, Sepultura

Find more about Throwdown at: http://www.myspace.com/throwdown

Andaba hoy yo, vagueando por las diferentes redes sociales, cuando me asaltó una publicación del maestro honorable Von Trönner donde comentaba el nuevo y pobre trabajo de Throwdown. Al leerlo, pienso, joder que bien informado que estoy que me pilla por sorpresa el hecho de que saquen trabajo, al igual que me pilló con The Black Dahlia Murder. Mientras escribo en Torrentz.com para descargar el álbum, pienso, como un administrador de un blog musical, no puede estar informado de las nuevas salidas de trabajos de grupos tan importantes como Throwdown (no tardo en olvidar mi auto reprimenda, cuando veo que me invitan para echar unos partidos a la consola)Dicho grupo, Throwdown, que descubrí a través de MTV (empezamos mal) allá por finales de 2004 se convirtió hasta los días actuales, en uno de los grupos que más he seguido durante todos estos años.

Fui uno de los pocos que aun disfrutaba de toda su discografía con su último Venom & Tears, el cual había hecho dividir a varios de sus fans por su sonido 100% Pantera, algo que muchos grupos actuales tienen como gen hereditario.

Me dispuse a bajar raudo por torrent, mientras acababa de jugar a Fifa 10, y terminaba de escuchar el Desintegrate de Zyklon .
En pocos minutos, lo descomprimí, y lo lleve a iTunes. Me fije en el título, que llevaba por nombre Deathless, una portada con un ojo, nada extremadamente horrible de momento. Todo parecía ir correcto, ritmos fuertes, sonido preocupantemente depurado, pero sin mucha diferencia de su anterior trabajo, hasta que tropiezo y caigo, con algo que pasa constantemente en la industria del metal y hardcore en general, pero que no esperaba para nada que sucediera con Throwdown. De repente, comienzo a escuchar por primera vez en 5 años, melódicos en la voz, desde los rasgados hasta voces completamente limpias. Mi mente no lo asimila. Creo que es un simple error, y decido esperarme a la segunda canción. Pero nada cambia, y para colmo tiene un ritmo en guitarras y voz que parecen Down pero con un suplemento de core muy brutal. Comienzo a pensar, esto es el síndrome de California, que aplana a todos los grupos y los vuelven homosexuales, porque una cosa es hacer música más compleja de lo que los límites musicales del hardcore puedan establecer (y orientarte a horizontes de Pantera, como hacen muchos) y otra muy diferente es que después de los últimos cambios se vuelva un grupo de mojabragas.
Cientos de flashes golpearon mi cabeza… Ignite, All that Remains, Atreyu… no podía más. Y hasta que llegue el track número 4 donde se comenzaba a jugar con una voz que no estaba hecha para lo melódico, haciendo unas formas vocales cual cantante sacado de una banda india, que me hizo darle al stop del iTunes.

5 años. 5 años han tardado en decepcionar un grupo que prometía tanto, pero que finalmente ha sido vencido y derrotado en las tentadoras tierras de California. Ahora, ya se pueden poner unas gafas, unos chalecos y ya se pueden ir a hacer de hard rockeros coretas o lo que les salga de la polla. Pero gente que comenzó con temas como Step it up, Integrity, Raise your Fist, Forever y Hopeless, se pueden meter su mierda de música y composición en el mismo puto lugar donde se la pueden meter todos los otros grupos que hacen exactamente lo mismo.

No es una recomendación, es una prueba para que veáis lo que es un grupo que tanteaba en los últimos años, pero que finalmente ya ha caído vendido como los demás.

Artista: Throwdown
Álbum: Deathless
Género: Hardcore/ Metalcore
Año: 2009
Web: Myspace
Country: Orange County, California. USA

Tracklist
01. The Scythe
02. This Continuum
03. Tombs
04. The Blinding Light
05. Widowed
06. Headed South
07. Serpent Noose
08. Ouroboros Rising
09. Skeleton Vanguard
10. Pyre & Procession
11. Black Vatican

Download in Comments

-Sir Cali-

Keeping on with my posts on Quebec’s hardcore, this is another one from my city of Montreal. This band is part of the local tough guy hardcore, and well, with bands like Until the End being so good, well these bands didn’t do so well across the border. They formed in 1999, and released a 3 song demo tape. Two of these songs were then added to four new songs, and it was released as their debut ep “God’s Final Descent” on Sounds of Revolution/13th Day Recordings.

They then signed with Alveran Records to release their full length “In a Time Where Hope is Lost”. The band then toured extensively throughout Europe. In early 2003 they were working on an ep which was to be released also on Alveran in the spring, but it never saw the day because they broke up in April 2003. If anyone has those recordings id love to hear them. After that the same members did Final Word, but I’m not sure if the ep they released was the one written as ADFES.

A Death for Every Sin – Discography

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Here’s a ferinstance for ya’lls…

If you had to choose who has the better imagination between Wishbone and Mr. Rogers, who would you pick?

I posed this question today to my students and the overwhelming sense I got from them is that they think Mr. Rogers is a creep-o. This makes me sad. But I think that they are only viewing him through their cynical college-age selves. There were a few who got wistful at the memory of Henrietta Pussycat. (Or maybe they were crying because I scared them by saying “meow-meow, meow, meow… meow” in my best Henrietta Pussycat impression.)

P.S. According to Snopes, Mr. Rogers was never in the military, despite stories you might have heard to the contrary.

Just ask anyone who’s been within 100 feet (okay, maybe 10 feet is more reasonable) of these stuffed peppers.

“Oh my god, it smells amazing,”

“I was going to ask you, where can I get some of that,”

“Something smells sooo good. Did you make that?!”

Why yes, yes I did.

Started with an itch for chili rellenos (an entirely different beast) that I caught watching part of a dumb episode of Bobby Flay’s Throwdown show. I had peppers on my mind.

Then I found these really bulbous ones on sale for cheap at my local fruit-veggie stand on York Street in the Upper East Side. Inner monologue: “Really, two for $1? Shit that’s cheap.” “Alright, they may not be pobleno, but they’ve got potential.” (I bought four.)

I also had a box of Reese’s wild rice that I’ve been wanting to use. Call it the Minnesotan in me, but I adore wild rice —  it’s everything good about rice, only better: Granular, nutty, earthy, each grain fiercely independent and boasting actual nutritional value.

Bell peppers, rice, check, check. At this point I turned to the Internet. Hands down, the most influential recipe that I came across was this one, which opened my eyes to three great ideas:

No. 1: Slice the bell peppers in half. Who needs a whole stuffed thing, anyhow?

No. 2: Stuff the pepper halves with a ground meat-based mix (plus onion, egg, fresh herbs, etc.), not purely veggie-on-veggie, which can sometimes end up being watery, bland and … sad.

No. 3: Start off the peppers in a frying pan, a good few minutes on each side, before lining up on a baking tray in the oven. Dang, pan start and oven finish? You mean exactly the same method as so many other proteins? Must be on the right track.

I couldn’t find any single recipe to try, so this was me winging it. Truly, a BLD Project original recipe:

Banging Stuffed Bell Peppers
Serves 8

4 bulbous bell peppers, color of your choosing
2/3 of one small, white onion (to your liking)
2/3 of one stalk of celery, rinsed and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5-6 crimini mushrooms, cleaned and diced
¼ c. fresh flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped (to your liking)
1 lb. ground meat of your choice — get creative
1 egg
1 c. cooked wild rice

1. Get the water for the rice boiling because it’s going to take nearly an hour to cook.

2. Wash and core the bell peppers, meaning, make the smallest hole possible on top so you can extract the seed chamber inside. Cut each bell pepper in half, vertically. Trim off any membrane inside that annoys you (although it really doesn’t matter). This is not unlike cleaning a pumpkin.

3. Prep onion, celery, garlic and mushrooms. In a saute pan, low heat, olive oil, saute onion and celery. Set aside. In the same pan, no rinse necessary, saute the garlic and the mushrooms. Set aside.

4. While the rice is still finishing, boil another pot of water and gently blanch each of the bell pepper halves. Two or three minutes mostly submerged in boiling water — softens them up. No need to run under cold water. Just throw them back into the strainer.

5. Once the rice is done, fold the egg, the onion/celery mix, the garlic/mushroom mix, 1 c. wild rice, the fresh parsley, salt and pepper into the ground meat (I stumbled upon a veal/beef/pork combo at my local Food Emporium that was selling for $3.99/lb — that ended up being amazing).

6. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Put your back into it.

7. Stuff each of the pepper halves so that they are ever-so-slightly mounding with stuffing.

8. Pan fry on both sides until you start getting some serious browning, or about 5-7 minutes on each side. (Really, don’t be gentle, these things are hard to overcook in a frying pan.)

9. Finish off in the oven at 350 degrees, another 10-12 minutes, depending your preference of done-ness and the intensity of your oven … but, let the record note, in my opinion it’s always better to have underdone meat than overdone meat — a microwave can finish off underdone meat in 30 seconds, whereas there is no going back once it has gone too far.

It’s late and I just watched it on Hulu yesterday. It was definitely HILARIOUS! I loved the part with the dramatic music when Sue came to practice and found out that no one would be able to do Cheerios because Will flunked them. I also found it funny when she left his office and was throwing things around. I think that Sue is definitely one of my new favorite characters. I think this is definitely one of the best episodes. I think that Quinn will probably not be apart of the Cheerios anymore due to Sue finding out about her being pregnant. I also think that Terri is getting desperate. Will will definitely find out about the whole baby scam thing sooner or later. The music wasn’t as good this week, but I pretty much thought it was a good, well rounded episode. I enjoyed it and a lot of Glee fans will find it good as well. Btw SPOILER!!!!! Sue steps down from her position of power in the Glee club. She is kind of like a figure head now in the Glee club hierarchy .

Now this is a truck worth chasing. Dessert Truck threw down with Bobby Flay last night, and…I won’t spoil the show for you. But if want to try your hand at one of Dessert Truck’s most popular treats, here’s the recipe via Time.com. 

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Bacon Crème Anglaise
Recipe courtesy of Chef Jerome Chang of New York City’s Dessert Truck

Bread pudding:
1 loaf of your favorite bread (we use a Pullman loaf)
3 cups heavy cream
140 g (½ cup plus 2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
38 g (1 1/3 oz.) 61% chocolate
38 g (1 1/3 oz.) 72% chocolate
100 g (3½ oz.) egg yolks
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 ° F.

Cut crusts off bread. Dice bread into ½-inch cubes.

Fill eight 4-oz. ramekins about halfway with bread.

In large saucepot, bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil.

Add both chocolates to the hot cream and whisk until even and smooth.

Add yolks and salt, whisking until uniform.

Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour the chocolate mixture over the bread until about ¼-inch from the rim.

Bake puddings in oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until they jiggle.

Bacon crème anglaise:
Makes about 1 qt. of sauce

4 strips of your favorite bacon (we use an applewood-smoked bacon)
2 cups half-and-half
75 g (2 2/3 oz.) granulated sugar
100 g (3½ oz.) egg yolks

Cook the bacon in a skillet until well caramelized.

In a small saucepot, bring half-and-half to a boil.

Add the strips of bacon, but not the excess grease. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and let the bacon infuse for 15 minutes.

Prepare an ice bath by placing an empty bowl into a large container of ice water.

Add sugar to the half-and-half and boil mixture.

Pour about half of the mixture over the yolks, whisk together, then pour back into the saucepot.

Continuously stir the custard mix over medium-high heat with a wooden spoon until the custard no longer looks watery when a finger is drawn across the back of the spoon.

Strain the custard into the bowl on the ice bath and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until cold. Store for up to 3 days.

Oh, and if you want to try Bobby’s bread pudding, the recipe’s here: http://bit.ly/3yP9n1

Dessert truck: www.desserttruck.com

Recipe from Time.com: http://bit.ly/3UIZE0

“I’m so elegant, regal.  I am Ajax, mighty Greek warrior.”

– Sue Sylvester, declaring war on Will Shuester

“Throwdown” starts appropriately enough with Sue and Will fighting like cats and dogs in their new positions as Glee co-directors.  Principal Figgins calls them in to his office to make them promise that things are hunky dory, which they do … while uttering death threats to each other in a phony embrace.

Will escorts Finn and Quinn to their first sonogram, and they find out the baby’s a girl.  Rachel gets blackmailed into giving up her panties to Jacob, the geeky school newspaper editor, in exchange for his promise to hold the story about Quinn’s secret and, perhaps more scandalous, Rachel’s crush on Finn.

Sue and Will fight each other for the hearts and minds of the Glee club singers.  Professing not to “ignore the needs of minority students,” Sue calls together a special “elite” sub-section of Glee in an effort to stack the decks for Sectionals (“Santana!  Wheels!  Gay Kid!  Asian!  Other Asian!  Aretha!”).

Tensions between Will and Terri reach the boiling point as he complains about not being a central part in her fictitious-although-he-doesn’t-know-it pregnancy.  Terri panicks as Will promises to take her to her next OBGYN visit.

Coach Sylvester brags about her inclusivity to the world, and her minority-stacked Elite Glee subgroup kicks off rehearsals with a groovy version of “Hate on Me” led by Mercedes.  Will is left to lead the “non-minority” remainder of the group.  He accuses Sue of playing dirty and trying to undermine him, which she readily admits.

In an effort to get back in Will’s good graces, Terri gives him tips for going after Sue (“You’ve got to get down in the gutter.”)  Taking her advice and flexing his authoritative muscle, he promptly flunks the “functionally illiterate” Cheerios, inciting Sue’s wrath.  She’s doubly peeved when she learns that her longstanding method of blackmailing Principal Figgins to cement his place as her number one advocate (uploading his commercial for anti-embolism stockings to YouTube) has fallen flat: Figgins uploaded it himself and “it only got two hits!”

The Glee club meets for a secret group session, knowing that Will and Sue would not approve of the two groups mingling.  (Highlight of the episode: a glorious acoustic version of Nelly’s “Ride With Me”.)

Quinn and Finn’s competing stresses about the pregnancy come to a head.  Quinn calls Finn on his Rachel-crush and, growing angrier after observing their chemistry during rehearsal, thinks about ditching Will’s group for Sue’s.  Sue succeeds in getting three Glee kids to defect from Will’s group.

Worried about being exposed, Terri gets her sister Kendra (she’s back – hooray!) to blackmail her obstetrician into playing along with the fake pregnancy when Will comes in for the sonogram.  Kendra threatens Dr. Wu: “You delivered all three of my kids; each one is dumber than the last!”

Quinn warns Rachel to stay away from Finn.  Rachel chastises her for helping Sue take down the Glee club, which is “the only thing you have right now.” OUCH.  Quinn laments her situation in a delightfully saucy, cheer-laced remake of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”.

The Glee teams prepare to face off in a hostility-fueled rehearsal that falls apart when Sue and Will come to blows.  The kids prove to be the real adults in the situation, demanding that they no longer be separated, calling Sue out for her fake commitment to “minority rights,” and storming off (even Artie storms off in a huff, lifted out of the auditorium by equally indignant fellow Gleeks).

Dr. Wu and Terry, through some fandangled miracle of technology, convince Will that the pretend baby is very much alive, and is very much a girl (laying more bricks along the path of Terri’s evil plan).

Sue and Will broach a shaky ceasefire, with Sue resigning as co-director of Glee.  We get perhaps the biggest insight into Sue’s psyche with this revelation: “I know I’m not like the rest of you hippies, caring about the kids’ feelings as if they were real … but I do care about teaching, and when I coach them, and they win, I win, and you know how I feel about winning.”

After that feel-good moment, the episode wraps up with – BIG SPOILER ALERT! – Sue exposing Quinn’s pregnancy.  (After Jacob the newspaper editor ‘fesses up about his panties blackmail scheme, she forces him to run the story of Quinn’s pregnancy and promptly blabs the news to the Glee club, obviously peeved that Quinn would jeopardize the future of her prized Cheerios by getting knocked up.)

“Takedown”

October 14th, 2009

“An environment of constant irrational terror”

Andy Dehnart (who can be found on Twitter at RealityBlurred) posted a piece of commentary at MSNBC yesterday that, earlier today, exploded into a lively twitter discussion amongst critics. His argument is that the show relies on stereotypes when it could be developing character, and that it needs to eliminate some of its more one-dimensional characters (like Sandy) and provide more depth to its central Glee club members. What’s interesting is that I don’t think there’s anyone who is going to argue with this point, especially if we apply it to Terri and her fake pregnancy. The strangest thing about Glee, from critics’ perspectives, is that most people tend to agree that it has its share of problems, especially when it comes to the adult characters on the show. The difference comes in how people rationalize those criticisms and weigh them with the show’s undeniable charm, and its quick-witted one-liners that most people tend to enjoy.

“Throwdown” is yet another dividing point, an episode that highlights the show’s best character (Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester) and as a result features a lot of great one-liners and some solid musical numbers. However, as someone who tends to lean more critically on the show than others, it’s an episode that shows you that Dehnart’s complaints aren’t the show’s only problem. Yes, its adult characters are one-dimensional, but the show’s plotting is just as problematic: storylines seem to happen to characters as opposed to because of characters, and the result is that the Glee club itself is trapped in the middle of wars and plots (the environment of constant irrational terror, in other words) that may be entertaining in the short term but are doing nothing to foster long term development.

Linda Holmes from NPR made the note that it’s impossible for Glee to hit the mark every week, as the mark is tiny and specific. I’d argue that the show is hitting that mark enough to keep me watching, but I’d also argue that it is more consistently missing it where it counts (narrative, character development) than where it’s most popular (the musical numbers, the one-liners). And while that’s a pattern for cult success, it’s not a pattern for dramatic or comic fulfillment.

Does everyone remember the pilot? I raise this point because “Don’t Stop Believing” was an example of a song that had considerable meaning for the characters involved. As lame as it sounds, the song sent a message of belief to kids who didn’t think they would have a chance, and told Will that he was truly in the right place. However, since that point, the musical numbers have not had quite the same impact. Sure, sometimes the songs have had meaning to the characters involved (Rachel singing “Take a Bow”), or made sense in the context of the plot, but the show’s real strength is the idea that Glee Club is in some way making a difference in these kids’ lives, or at the very least that the musical numbers are adding something to the series from a narratological perspective.

My argument is not that songs which are just fun are worthless (the show is about a glee club, so they’re going to sing on occasion). However, the problem right now is that when people sing it never feels particularly fun. There’s a point tonight where Mercedes points out that Glee club is supposed to be fun as Will and Sue fight over what’s best for the club, and I’m sitting here saying “Amen, sister!” The episode was at its best when there was a (rare) musical number without extreme production, as the group got together (after having been split up by Sue) and jammed on Nelly’s “Ride Wit Me.” It was 12 kids having a lot of fun, something that the show hasn’t been providing us: it has them so caught up in drama that there has never been a single moment where they’ve just been allowed to enjoy themselves. And in the process, I have to say: I have a lot more fun downloading the singles and enjoying them musically than viewing them as islands in a sea of pregnancies, hatred and drama.

I thought this episode used songs well, overall. While some could argue that having Quinn break into a random production number (“Keep Me Hanging On”) was breaking the reality of the show’s universe, I think the show is already something of a fantasy, and most importantly the song actually seemed to serve a purpose for her character. Her frustration with Finn was legitimate, and the song sold that: it wasn’t the most intelligent bit of plotting in the world, but I thought it was an example of a song being used in a logical fashion (if not a realistic one). Music is a highly versatile plot device, something that is capable of telling a story in a way that is unique and flashy. The problem with Glee is that it feels too often that the show is using it as a distraction, or more problematically building episodes around music in a way which makes neither element (the music or the plot) really stand out.

My issue with “Takedown” is that it does a lot of what I suggest above, largely building its dramatic storyline around the glee club kids and ending in an emotional musical number that emphasizes they will all work together, all as one large minority as part of Glee club, as they “Keep Holding On,” but it still felt off for me. I think my issue is that the show might have gone too far down the absurdist and cynical road for it to ever feel triumphant, for it to ever feel as care-free and fun as it did early on: the song was about them resolving a hackneyed melodramatic subplot, not actually developing these characters any further. When the episode goes so far as to have Finn hold both Quinn and Rachel’s hands as they stand on that stage, and ends on Quinn tearing up, I feel as if the show hasn’t earned it. I want to say that this is a step in the right direction for the show, but at the same time we spent too much of the episode on a largely juvenile (if funny) conflict between Sue and Will, spent too much time with Terri tricking Will into believing she’s actually pregnant for me to just sit back and accept the show’s faults.

On the plus side, the episode appears to have simplified the show’s premise somewhat: everyone knows about Quinn’s pregnancy, Will is back in control of the Glee club, and based on the preview for next week we’re going to delve more into the high school dynamics of the glee members as opposed to an almost bureaucratic struggle for control of the organization. But there is something about this show that makes me as suspicious as Will when Sue says that she’s stepping down: for every moment where I think the show knows where its mark is, the next moment it has Terri and her awful shrill sister bribing an OBGYN in an effort to continue a farcical pregnancy. While that might be something that some critics can shrug off, and that fans largely ignore as they hit “Replay” on a youtube video for the fifth time, it’s something that’s always there for me, and that won’t just go away when people start singing and dancing.

“Throwdown” is far from the worst episode of the series, with minimal time spent with Terri and plenty of hilarious Sue one-liners to go with some solid musical numbers and at least some semblance of an emotional core. If I wasn’t a fan of the show, I could tear apart the Terri parts of the episode and pretend the rest didn’t exist, and if I was a superfan I could ignore the Terri parts and love the musical numbers. But, as a critic who loves the premise and merely likes the show, I want it to be more self-aware of where its strengths lie. Time Magazine’s James Poniewozik noted today that Glee is a fine argument for the idea that consistency is overrated in television, its highs being worth its occasional lows, but I can’t help but feel it could be just as risky and just as inconsistent without also fundamentally misunderstanding what makes it interesting.

Cultural Observations

• Odd observation about Glee: while a lot of shows tend to tailor their “Previously on” segments as an effort to jog your memory on elements of the story that will be particularly important in the episode about to air (Jason Mittell has a great paper on the subject at JustTV), Glee is actually just summarizing the important events from the previous episode: it told us that Ken and Emma got engaged, and yet neither appeared in the episode.
• The “voiceover fight” in the opening scene was kind of interesting, in that it brings attention to the use of different voiceovers in a way that I didn’t expect. The show has been a bit manic with how it has chosen who gets voiceovers or not, but the scene made good use of the different perspectives (getting a laugh from Will’s horror at how he was acting and Sue’s glee at being Ajax, the mighty greek warrior, with her elegant and regal slow-motion yelling), so it’s the kind of clever comedy I like to see from the show.
• I think that the episode could have gone without the minorities note in this one: while it was a fun joke for Sue once or twice, I thought that she simply could have picked people out for being neglected in general (based on their taste in music, or their differences of opinion). The minority note felt like a forced bit of comedy, and one which never quite connected for me.