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S01.E08: E.A.B.

Drogo

By Drogo
in Vinyl [V]

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MsTree

MsTree

I don't know why, but I WANT to like this show....however, at times I find it utterly disjointed and somewhat confusing. And just when I think "oh yeah, I get it"...some other stupid shit happens that brings me back to square one.

  • Love 2
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bookrat

bookrat

(edited)

So who was the young wedding singer supposed to be?

 

"Am I the worst mother in the world?" YES YOU ARE!!! Your devil children threw someone's pet cat down, what TEN FREAKING stories, to see if would could back to life?! How old is the son? 7 years, 8 years old? He's old enough to know better. Serial killer in the making. Little freak children don't even feel bad they killed the cat. Mom should be happy I wasn't the cat's owner.

And what does mom do after finding out her kids killed the pet, leaves them and goes out to a club. Yup, worst mother ever.

 

I hate everyone on this show, even the kids.

Edited by bookrat
  • Love 10
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SoothingDave

SoothingDave

The actual EAB scene was what I would have liked to have seen more of in this series.  Working with artists to produce music.  

 

Also, Jaime didn't do anything this episode except sit on the studio couch.  With her clothes on.  

  • Love 8
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Cramps

Cramps

The EAB scene was truly great.

The stairs at The Hotel Chelea were basically like that. The idea of a transgender resident screaming at the child about throwing the cat down the stairs, while his socialite mother is more concerned about how she can make "art," was funny in it's own twisted way.

Having a satanic curse put on the record company office while a John Denver song played in the background was hysterical.

I want to like this show. And there are moments that I do. And then it gets painful again.

  • Love 3
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revbfc

revbfc

(edited)

The thing that I liked in this episode was the demoted mailroom guy's epiphany about disco at the end. Everything else just bugged the hell out of me because all the other stories involved known or brand new money pits.

-Borrowing from the mob and letting them move into the office.

-The Nasty Bits NOT writing a song.

-"Xavier" and the inevitable Jobriath-ness of all that.

-Those effing Donny Osmond records.

I do realize that I complain about this show weekly, and I do get that my comments can rub some people (who like the show) the wrong way. I just wish that such a great premise and cast was being used more effectively. The show looks great, the cast is great, and I love 70's music, but the show just isn't holding together well. I really hope an overhaul can be successfully achieved for season 2.

Edited by revbfc
  • Love 5
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FanOfTheFans

FanOfTheFans

(edited)

This show needs to give us someone to root for. There is a true lack of a true protagonist. I want to like this show so much but come on writers. I love the era and coming off one of the greatest decades for music, both the sixties and seventies are ripe with music history. I know in my lifetime, there will never be another era like this musically speaking. The talent of that time is unbelievable. It would be nice for young people to experience it.

Edited by FanOfTheFans
  • Love 5
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FanOfTheFans

FanOfTheFans

Just want to add that since they tapped into Latin soul funk last night, I hope they can give us some Eric Burdon and War. They already had some major hits out in the early 70's. Spill the Wine comes to mind for one. Nobody did it better. Talk about some talented musicians.

  • Love 4
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StevieRocks

StevieRocks

So who was the young wedding singer supposed to be?

 

"Am I the worst mother in the world?" YES YOU ARE!!! Your devil children threw someone's pet cat down, what TEN FREAKING stories, to see if would could back to life?! How old is the son? 7 years, 8 years old? He's old enough to know better. Serial killer in the making. Little freak children don't even feel bad they killed the cat. Mom should be happy I wasn't the cat's owner.

And what does mom do after finding out her kids killed the pet, leaves them and goes out to a club. Yup, worst mother ever.

 

I hate everyone on this show, even the kids.

Thank you, Bookrat. I came here to post EVERY. WORD. OF. THIS., but, alas, you beat me to it. God in heaven. And then the crazed nitwit who calved them remarks, "Oh, they were seeing if they had nine lives." Sigh. How adorable. Yes, "Mom," this is how serial killers are made. Congratulations? Blech.

  • Love 2
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StevieRocks

StevieRocks

Co-sign most of what has been said. Such a waste. When the three cornballs left the bank, I thought, "cue Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners," and like clockwork, Richie starts screaming at the top of his lungs like a caricature from a 1950s sitcom. I feel like I'm watching two shows--one that is corny, lame, and cringe-worthy and one that is beautiful and exquisite. I agree that the part with Lester was just wonderful and that THAT should be the show. Richie is even more gross when he behaves in one scene like a pandering, obsequious bootlicker (at the bank and with the mob) and then a bullying, classless blowhard with his co-workers and, of all people, the secretary?!  I keep wondering why no one ever turns around and says, "Who are you talking to, you dirty, sweaty ape?"Stupid.  He's not even interesting enough to be a douche; he's just a standard-issue moron. Matthew Weiner could have made this into a masterpiece. 

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PamelaMaeSnap

PamelaMaeSnap

(edited)

Thanks for the info on Jobriath. I was going crazy trying to figure out who he was supposed to be ... and for someone who considered themselves really ultra-knowledgeable about the music of that period and especially in NYC (where I grew up), I have never heard of Jobriath. 

 

One other quick note: I loved the visual, after "Here Comes The Sun," of the guys walking into the bank though was surprised that one of them wasn't barefoot. 

 

Also, always happy for a Michael Kostroff sighting. 

Edited by PamelaMaeSnap
  • Love 3
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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

On one hand, the EAB scene was probably the best moment in the series so far.  Loved Lester showing he's still got some moves in him.  This show could really use more of him.  Been a fan of Ato Essandoh since I first saw him on Elementary, and I really want him to get his big role, which I think they could do here, if they put more effort into it.

 

On the other hand, well, there is all the other things like more mobster stuff, the Buck Rodgers death, Richie still being an asshole, and the random moment where the kids apparently kill a cat, and it is played for laughs.  The hell?

 

Oh, and also Devon meets John Lennon.  The guy was decent enough, although I was really hoping Paul Rudd would reprise the role like he did in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

  • Love 5
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PamelaMaeSnap

PamelaMaeSnap

(edited)

Ditto on Ato Essandoh, Thuganomics ... been a fan since seeing him in "Garden State" where, IMHO, he stole the show as Titembay (sp?).

 

ETA: Speaking of "Walk Hard," if HBO is smart they'll sign on Mike Viola to write original music for next season so they can make some royalties of their own to offset what they're spending. 

Edited by PamelaMaeSnap
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revbfc

revbfc

Another thing that should be mentioned about the titular chord progression "EAB" is that it is also the chord progression of "Blitzkrieg Bop.". Seeing a band like the Nasty Bits struggling to come up with a song based on something so simple isn't helping me root for them. Looking at all the effort being put forth to get the NB to sound dirty and streetwise, makes me wish there was another scene taking place in Queens where Johnny or Dee Dee are effortlessly coming up with three-chord riffs and putting a band together.

  • Love 3
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qtpye

qtpye

(edited)

I am a big fan of the music of the era, though I am too young to have experienced it for myself.

 

I feel like this was created by somebody who read a Wikipedia entry on the seventies music scene and tried to make a show out of it.

 

Racism-check, Feminism-check, talented old musician who was screwed by his label-check, misogyny-check, sex, drugs and rock n' roll, check, check, and check.

 

Richie feels like a try hard and nothing seems organic.

 

Nepotism is not great for the audience.  I feel like they want to make Jagger's kid a combination of Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious.   The problem is if you ever read or see an interview by Johnny Rotten (it is worth it), the guy was an amazingly brilliant asshole (forget about his horrible portrayal in the movie "Sid and Nancy").  Jagger's kid just does not have the ugly raw edge a good punk band leader around this time would have.

Edited by qtpye
  • Love 4
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lucindabelle

lucindabelle

The actual EAB scene was what I would have liked to have seen more of in this series.  Working with artists to produce music.  

 

Also, Jaime didn't do anything this episode except sit on the studio couch.  With her clothes on.

This. I love all the music stuff. Was impatient for it to get back to that.

I do root for Zak.

This show has mick jagger as ep so it's not a wiki entry for sure. I loved the sneak up on john Lennon but agree the animal cruelty was not funny or something to shrug off.

  • Love 1
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ljp

ljp

I am so sad that I can't bring myself to like this show. I keep hanging in there due to moments I like, but seriously Richie has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Can the show next season be refocused around Lester, the guy in the mailroom who actually appears to be finding a new sound (not that I was thrilled with his sadsack persona until just now) and I suppose the wife so long as she is living at the Chelsea.

 

Richie is just an asshole and on top of the character being written as an asshole its being overacted to death. This is a great era and hte people involved are so good. why is this not better.

  • Love 3
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qtpye

qtpye

(edited)

I actually liked the opening with Here Comes the Sun and them smoozing the chemical bank loan officer.  Of course, Lester was pretty good and I like Gus.

 

Devon's children kill a cat and she can barely apologize?  All she does is hand them off to a nanny to go out and do her all important "Art"?  I am beginning to think she is just as big a piece of shit as her husband.  They deserve each other.

 

I like Jamie, but she did not do much this episode.  That actress always looks stunning in the seventies' clothes. 

Edited by qtpye
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PamelaMaeSnap

PamelaMaeSnap

I've never liked Devon to start with but I'm not sure we were "supposed" to ... I get the feeling she was sort of originally presented, on the surface, to be a damaged sympathetic waify heroine, but I don't find her anymore likable or relatable than Richie (either in present or flashbacks) and they kind of deserve each other (and apparently we're now getting the idea the apples don't fall far from the pair of trees). 

 

I'm much more invested in the other characters, most of all Lester and Zak. And I've never really been a fan of Ray Romano, but he has won me over big time this season.

 

I'd like to see more of Jorge too (the mailroom "boss"). 

 

Oh, also? What is with that "face" Richie makes every time he does a hit of coke? Seriously? Is he snorting rocket fuel? It's so over the top it's cartoonish and it's gotten on my last nerve.

  • Love 4
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2AT

2AT

(edited)

Finally, an episode that didn't leave me questioning my sanity as to why I'm still watching! Fast forward through all of the scenes of Richie, Richie and the mob, and Richie and the murder that no one cares about (the common denominator here being Richie), and we have ourselves a decent show!

 

The last scene with Clark and Jorge entering the underground club to the beat of "Wild Safari" by Barrabas was EVERYTHING.  I have been waiting for this show to move me in some way, and that did it - it made me want to jump through my TV screen and join the party!  I am really excited by Clark finding his groove and hope that he pulls Jorge out of the mailroom with him - as I could see a Russell Simmons/Rick Ruben dynamic, with them discovering early disco and hip hop acts.

 

The E.A.B. lesson with Lester was another great sequence.  I felt like I learned something (I had no idea)!

 

I actually like Devon sans Richie and hope this is the beginning of the end for them.  They have zero chemistry and I would be interested in seeing if she could  reconcile coming into her own as an artist with raising two small would-be serial killers (the cat scene was unnecessary).

 

Loving Zak/Scott/faux Jobriath (I knew that was where they were going as soon as he inquired about a gatefold LP.  http://www.grandillusioncinema.org/blog/?p=296 ) and I'm interested to see if they will fully explore Scott's obvious attraction.

 

Now this is the Andrea that I have been waiting to see!  PR warlock needed to go.

 

I hope they follow the precedent of "Halt and Catch Fire" and switch protagonists for the second season.  The Richie character is literally snorting the life out of the show.  It's so much better when you fast-forward through all of his scenes.  

Edited by 2AT
  • Love 5
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Lonesome Rhodes

Lonesome Rhodes

They've written a check about Richie with the secret tapings that will require massive suspensions of disbelief to cash - unless they actually mean for Richie to go down due to his conviction for some form of murder.   I get that we are dealing with corrupt detectives and I am guessing that is the excuse/explanation as to how Finestra walks away from this.

 

If the Bits are truly that clueless about music, they would never, ever, have a shot at creating original stuff that would be worth a spit.  

 

What I am not quite understanding is how they have managed to maintain their Brill Building offices.  With what are they paying rent/utilities and such?  How many months are they in arrears?  That was some choice office space they had.

 

So who is skimming?  Just Richie?  How many, if any, of the others?

 

I think that of all the idiocy we have seen, it is the blase reaction the partners have - heck, one of them handed him some dope! - when Finestra chooses to use.  This last instance was a farce.  Why they would choose to stay with this total loser now surpasses understanding.  

 

As does my continued interest in the show.  I guess I am hoping for another Eric Carmen sighting.

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Silly Angel

Silly Angel

OK, I've only gotten this far so forgive me if everything changes real soon, but...

Richie does not "hear the future." He's still pushing Grand Funk and Elvis(!!) and Donny Osmond (which, as running jokes go, isn't funny) and post-hippie-soft-rock bull. It's AngelHair McPouty ForeignParents who discovers punk, and SlashedThroat DeBetrayedByRichie who refines their sound (by Zeppelining them all blues-into-rock style, which...not punk, but whatever). And it's Mailroom McCokeDealer who gets all down with disco/rap.

So what the fuck good is the main character?? He kills a dude and freaks out everytime he's anywhere near drugs/alcohol. Useless. Am I supposed to have high hopes for Jobriath? Because that shit was ridiculous even then.

Sigh. I'll keep watching just in case there is anything as truly hilarious as the slightly fat David Bowie of a few episodes ago. That was priceless.

  • Love 2
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PamelaMaeSnap

PamelaMaeSnap

Well, as much as I hate to confess this, my first concert was Donny Osmond (solo) at Madison Square Garden in 1972 (I was 12, don't judge!) and it was sold out and packed with screaming pre-pubescent girls (of which I was one) so I would argue that he was "early in his career" in 1973. I wouldn't call him the future, LOL. Though he's done pretty well for himself financially and apparently he and Marie made some sort of aging deal with the LDS devil. 

 

Punk may not have become a national phenomenon until later in the 1970s but it was certainly around, especially in the form they show a la The New York Dolls, etc., in NYC the early '70s and, in fact, the Dolls performed "Personality Crisis" (which they did in first episode, IIRC) on the TV show "Midnight Special" in 1973. 

 

So while I definitely have found a bunch of anachronistic easter eggs here and there, I'd have a hard time arguing most of the basic musical timeline references. 

  • Love 2
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kassa

kassa

Oh, also? What is with that "face" Richie makes every time he does a hit of coke? Seriously? Is he snorting rocket fuel? It's so over the top it's cartoonish and it's gotten on my last nerve.

 

 

All I can figure is that the producers/directors consider it coke porn, and are flashing back to how they felt back in the day when THEY did it, and want to capture that by making us look at rictus face over and over, patting themselves on the back that it's just like BEING THERE!

 

If the Bits are truly that clueless about music, they would never, ever, have a shot at creating original stuff that would be worth a spit.

 

 

 

Punk was usually more about the energy than the musicianship (with notable exceptions, of course). 

 

Well, as much as I hate to confess this, my first concert was Donny Osmond (solo) at Madison Square Garden in 1972 (I was 12, don't judge!) and it was sold out and packed with screaming pre-pubescent girls (of which I was one) so I would argue that he was "early in his career" in 1973. I wouldn't call him the future, LOL. Though he's done pretty well for himself financially and apparently he and Marie made some sort of aging deal with the LDS devil.

 

 

I saw him in Vegas a few years ago.  He's actually quite good.  He did a surprisingly good cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" -- so I can say that I personally witnessed Donny Osmond reminiscing about when he was a nappy headed little boy.  (He understood the weirdness and acknowledged it before the song).

 

I continue to not understand how he features so prominently in the show as one of the label's artists (complete with actual album cover art on the walls).  Is his old actual label producing this show and in on the joke?  

  • Love 1
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This2getsold

This2getsold

(edited)

Well you aren't paying attention. No offense meant. Donny was hot in '73.
I'm not paying that close attention but usually framed lp's mean million lp sellers. Big deal in the industry. 

Most artists back in 70's had contracts with labels that were for several lp's. So of course they would talk about Donny. Its easier to make money off of a known talent. Less work. 

Some labels specialize and wouldn't sign punk, rap, comedy, hip hop, etc. Not so unusual, even for today 

Edited by This2getsold
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Cramps

Cramps

A lot of Donny's and the Osmond Brothers' albums were on MGM Records, a label which doesn't exist anymore. It might have been easier to get the permission to use it for the show.

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Hanahope

Hanahope

Was it this episode where the guy had the suggested logo for Alibi records, and the female manager is all "dick, dick, Italy, VW logo".  That was pretty funny.  Notice that it didn't include any of the supposed 'stars' of the show.

  • Love 2
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This2getsold

This2getsold

(edited)

Now you got me wondering if all the talent on Vinyl is on MGM records.

 

Usually these labels get bought by another label. Maybe who owns the former MGM contracts wants the exposure.

 

After hearing pillow talk by Sylvia in show #4, I bought the CD. Yes I like CD's and don't mind paying for them rather than a download.   

 

UPDATE - MGM music in around for the licensing of MGM labels works. Warner Bros manages MGM copyrights. Found on Wikipedia

Edited by This2getsold
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