The Useless Critic 2.0

Song of the Day LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE I want to live in this song.

I have a theory that Miley Cyrus is copying Robyn. Today, I am sharing evidence of this.  I am not the first person to have this thought obviously. 1.) The hair. I hate to admit to this, but Miley had lovely hair before 2012. She had nice, all-American locks. The kind that did her well in a Nicholas Sparks movie. Now? Meanwhile, we have Robyn: 2.) Snoop Dogg (Lion?) 3.) Being Weird and I think Miley probably admires Robyn's transition to an adult star and hopes to emulate it, but Robyn is a queen. Miley seems to be having...some weird growing pains. Billy Ray, what did you do!

By Guest Writer Taylor Birk I never thought that I would laugh at a book about cancer patients. Yet, this past spring, I found myself laughing until I was crying at "The Fault in Our Stars." I’m not new to John Green novels. I read his first book, "Looking for Alaska," back in 2010. So, I shouldn’t have been surprised he would be the guy to make me laugh while reading a book about a serious subject. Now, I didn’t laugh the whole time, of course. The book was very serious at times. In fact, I cried more often than I laughed. To be specific, I started crying during chapter eleven and I didn’t stop until the book was over. I felt so many emotions while I was reading that book. Green took a serious subject, made it a lighthearted story, but didn’t make it completely unbelievable. He kept the not-so-pretty aspects of dealing with an illness and just wrote an amazing novel. I think it’s safe to say I love John Green (not in the same way I love Tom Hiddleston, bu...

Song of the Day I didn't think I'd like this cover so much, but it's quite dreamy. Enjoy your Friday!

Here she is again!  Annie's new song with Richard X- rave-happy one more times! - is now OUT. It's "Invisible" and you can listen here . Oh Land's dad helped her make a music video for "My Boxer." The result is an endearingly simple homemade video. And Fiona Apple CAME BACK AGAIN. She reunited with her ex (and Mr. Maya Rudoph), Paul Thomas Anderson, for the "Hot Knife" video. Check it out: *dies*

Song of the Day RIP Faye Hunter. 

Episode 6 Don't You Feel Me

Guess what? MGMT has a new album coming out in September. I know you are excited because as I discovered earlier this year, 2008 is hip again. Believe it. The new album is titled "MGMT" and you can expect it to drop on Sept. 17. The UC is bringing back all these bands you used to care about. Is your hair falling out yet? Actually my manager at work made fun of MGMT and it was a weird experience for me. I was like "uh....." They are also touring Europe. And as my dad has said to me many times, "if you're not pooping, you're a-peeing." Many times.  September 26  Cologne, Germany           Live Music Hall September 27  Brussels, Belgium              AB September 29  Stockholm, Sweden         Cirkus September 30  Oslo, Norway        SentrumScene October 1        Copenhagen, Denmark   Vega Main Hall October 3 ...

So I don't read the AV Club all that often, but when I do...well it's something all right. I recently discovered the " Hatesong " feature by them, which is a fascinating little feature. So I wondered: "What song do I hate?" Hrmmmmmmmm. I mean I like a lot of music; evident from my posts obvs.  I mean I doubt they will ask me anytime soon. So here I go! The Song I Hate By Britt Ahem, "Picture" by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. To me this is like hearing someone masturbate on broken glass. Or it's like listening to a dolphin get cleavered. Or a blind guinea pig scream at the top of her lungs (I hear that all the time, actually). Don't get me wrong: I love Sheryl Crow. I think she's talented and makes some quality music, but that doesn't mean she's incapable of a giant turd every now and then. As for Kid Rock, to me he is the kind of person I sort of despise. He is a glorified redneck. Granted, that could be just an ...

Song of the Day The Big Star documentary " Nothing Can Hurt Me " played in Phoenix recently. Big Star, in case you are unfamiliar, was a brilliant little pop band from the 1970s that didn't last very long. Alex Chilton, the force behind Big Star, died in 2010. Part of the reason he died, if you believe Wikipedia, was due to a lack of health insurance. O_o This song makes me nostalgic; I'm not sure why though.

Episode 3 What’s Eating Dexter Morgan? Dexter wakes up in the middle of the night to Harrison’s cries. At first it seems like a dream; Dex follows red splotches on the floor to the bathroom. He instead finds Harrison on the bathroom floor, an empty box of cherry popsicles beside him. Instead of making the kid puke it up, Dex gives him a shot of pepto and sends him to bed. The very thought of all that sugar and red 40 makes me want to puke just thinking about it. Elsewhere, Deb gets taken into the police station for an almost-DUI. She also wrecked a parking meter with her car. And who does she call? Not Dexter, not Elway, no she calls fucking Quinn, who is asleep with Jamie when she calls. He makes an excuse of “police stuff” and runs to Deb’s rescue. Next morning, Dex and Miami Metro investigate the backwoods cabin (that Dex already discovered last ep). Instead of finding the body of supposed killer Sussman on meat hooks, they find him with a hole in his he...

Episode 5 Fuck the Pain Away This was one of those episodes that made note-taking really hard. And I mean that as a compliment. I had to pause the episode several times to jot down the influx of crazy stuff happening. This season seems to be flying by. We're at episode five already! Not that I'm complaining; the pacing this season has really taken off.

What's a better way to start the week than with a new Goldfrapp video? The duo have premiered the ethereal music video for "Drew," the first single from their upcoming album Tales of Us , due out September 9. It is set in a typically British Victorian mansion, and there are naked people in it. Alison looks stunning as well, per usual. I must say, as much as I love the idea of " Felt Mountain meets Seventh Tree ," I was also expecting some throbbing electro-sleaze a la Black Cherry and Supernature . Maybe next time?

I have no investment in the show "Glee." At all. I like Jane Lynch but I am not a fan of them butchering songs I'd otherwise enjoy. The sole exception being "Forget You" by Gwyneth Paltrow (ha!) However Cory Monteith struck me as a genuinely nice guy - you rarely see celebrities who seem like they wouldn't be douches in real life -  and I was shocked when I heard about his personal demons earlier this year. Like I read a lot about celebrities so I came into contact with this.  And I was horrified to read about his death yesterday. RIP Cory.

Song of the Day My mom sent this to me- which was unexpected. 

Episode 2 Every Silver Lining... Sorry for the lateness of this recap. Did I mention I’ll be moving to Chicago in about a month?! Crazy stuff. Oh, and I made scrambled eggs this morning and didn’t burn the house down! Hooray for me! Anyhoo, let’s get to things. The plot gets a bit twisty this episode, and it was a pain to scribble notes for. A lot of good dialogue and character development.

NEW OH LAND SONG NEW OH LAND SONG NEW OH LAND SONG I need a gif for this but I don't understand them NEW OH LAND SONG NEW OH LAND SONG NEW OH LAND SONG sweet GOD this morning I wanted to walk into traffic and now life is roses again So! How is it? Awesome! It's produced by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio fame. Also, her new album is "Wish Bone." Like the dog.  ... Here's the song . Take a listen! Enjoy!!!

Episode 4 At Last Andy & Terry & Arlene —Terry is just minding his own business, when Andy’s fae daughters discover that he murdered his friend Patrick. They can read minds and all that. Arlene comes in and scolds them. Of course Terry is ready to crack. Andy comes in and puts the girls to bed. And then they grow up some more. Now they’re slutty teenagers! And it’s every teenaged girl’s fantasy to go out and get drunk and party, right? They raid Arlene’s closet and steal Andy’s squad car. Wow, those guys must be heavy sleepers, cause these girls are not being subtle at all . (For more on the fae girls’ excellent adventure, see Bill and Jess’ segment.) Andy rallies the troops that morning. He can’t really give a good description since they could be fully grown by now. He and Terry and Arlene bicker amongst themselves, but realize they’re all to blame. That night, Andy and Jason investigate the missing squad car and find it at the very same conve...