Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A Material World

For a change of pace I'm going to do something raw and spontaneous. I realize this is cheesy and lame, but hell we're all writers, we've all had to push ourselves at times.

So here are some random hand written notes I took last night while watching the Epic Wonder of Television Production that is Glee. I'm going to write EXACTLY what I wrote (through the minor haze of a couple Mike's Harder Cranberry Lemonades) bad spelling, hand writing and general poor logic and all. Okay they're not quite random. I will go in order of the notes I wrote, which followed the chronology of the episode, but otherwise throw organized thought into the wind. I'm pretty good at that kind of thing so hopefully this will be fun.



I will say that this episode was a HUGE improvement on last week. I'm still not sure that it lived up to anything from last season but a lot of that may be just the fact that the debut of something this unique is always kind of special.

Anyway here are the notes. Please don't judge me too harshly.


- Madonna is the most beautiful, talented and powerful woman. I had a huge crush on her even while I still packed my Star Wars Action Figures in my Darth Vader's head shaped holder that even then gave me dark dreams.



Does that mean I was too young to think about a woman in that way (finding her attractive)? Possibly, but it doesn't mean that Madonna's too old to still be HAWT.

- Did Miss Pillsbury actually mention Anne Coulter?

I don't even remember the scene in which this came up so I can't really comment on what this means but I do recall finding it funny last night.

- Sound production during the Cheerleader/Cirque Du Soleil dance was top notch. I almost thought I was at a Rave.

Wow. I just dated myself with that one.

- Misogyny is alive and ill.

I know the show is not actually trying to address what it truly a serious issue, but it's nice to see that they're honest.

- The production/beat behind Express Yourself was dope, but you can't stop top the sensuality of the original.

Again, here the audio mixing and quality really stood out. I don't have the greatest stereo at home but this show really shines.

- Most Madonna music takes me back to a simpler time, when my parents were still alive and my family was together.

This sucks. It's sad but true, but also such is life. Besides, I've got my own family now and we're quite happy, thank you.


- Madonna is not in the public domain. Doesn't copyright require 50 years to expire?

Can't remember who said that but it's obviously not true.

- Coach Sylvester thinks she's 29? Hah! Yeah right. Besides that would ruin her status as a cougar.

Obviously that was a joke (the age thing in the show, not her cougar status).

- I realize it's a comedy but some of the "first time" shit is inappropriate.

I suppose that this is my fault because this isn't really prime time and I let my 8 almost 9 year old stay up too late to watch it.


- Vogue - pure genius.


Does Coach Sue sing her own part? I've seen her in movies for years. She must. Obviously she's not an amazing singer and much can be done with condenser mics and things of that nature, but I thought she did a pretty good job.

- Like a Virgin - hilarious and awkward. Finn was the best! Even the vocals sounded innocent and simple. My daughter said: "I like the beat".

Obviously Madison didn't get it, but it was still a fun scene.

- Mr. Shuster is an excellent role model - for men - and for what young women should put up with. Except when he allowed Jessie from Vocal Adrenaline into New Directions.

Okay, not sure I still agree with this 100% this morning, but he is certainly better than most TV characters.

- Can't blame Curt and Mercedes for joining the cheerios, they sure do get the shaft.

Right.

- What it feels like for a girl was brilliant, but they should have made it more boy centric.

Not quite sure what I meant by this.

- Like a Prayer really exercised the pipes of these stars! Great Tunage!

There really are some great singers on this show. I'm glad it comes on after American Idol, because it's nice to hear some good singing to heal my ears after the likes of Tim.

So anyway those are my random notes. Strange I know. Kind of a fun experiment though, and hey, if you don't put it out there for others to read it's not even writing; it's just writing shit down.

What are your thoughts? Did you like the Glee episode last night? Do you love Madonna?

P.S. I've decided to compromise about Michelle's guest post this week. Most of you voted for Non-Fiction yesterday, but there were plenty of votes for fiction as well.

I'm going to go ahead and do both this week. We'll start with Non-Fiction tomorrow, for a special Thursday guest blogger edition and then we'll follow up with a normal Friday guest blogger successful query post. Please don't forget to come back, read comment, follow, whatever and make sure to visit Michelle's blog as well!


EDIT: I've added a Carbon Neutral Button to my blog (see the left sidebar). You should do the same. Click the button to get linked to the instructions. They will plant a tree to offset the carbon footprint of your blog.

How awesome is that?

25 comments:

Vicki Rocho said...

Do you always take notes when you watch TV or did you have this post in mind?

Just curious. I don't watch much TV (and then it's HGTV) so my remarks would be like "ooooh, I love what they did with that closet organizer" hahahaha.

I DO have a little voice recorder though that I have started using when I'm driving or whatever and need to remember an idea or snippet of dialogue. I love it!

Back-to-back query days! woo hoo! You rock.

Shannon said...

Thanks Matt. This was a lot of fun to read!

Slamdunk said...

That Darth Vader case rocked...

JE said...

I don't watch TV, but one time I was over at the rents when Glee was on. It was the longest hour of my life. I hated it. *ducking head from all the glee fans* To me, its no more than the adult version of High School Musical. Cheesy to the max. The only character I liked was the cheer coach...because she is kind of like me. That's scary, right? Heehee.

~JD

Unknown said...

I LOVE Glee and i agree that they do have quite a few AMAZING & talented group of people & i am always surprised at what the come up with and i believe the Madonna Episode was EPIC!

And do you always take notes when you watch tv? Just wondering because i had never heard of someone doing it and just wondering what your thoughts behind it were...

Matthew MacNish said...

Great question and good point y'all. I DO NOT normally take notes when watching TV. I did it last night with this post in mind.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Star Wars action figures. YAY!! I don't watch much TV, either. Maybe I should start. But when???

Candyland said...

You're hilarious! Note taking during Glee...too funny!

Laura Pauling said...

I heard that Tim was asked to be on GLEE next season. ;)

Unknown said...

Okay this is like my favorite post ever!!! I love how you actually took notes during Glee?! I think I might have to have my notebook handy next week!

I have to say the Miss Pilsbury comment about Anne Coulter made me giggle. I don't know where you were going with that but I do remember what scene you are referring to!!

Jane Lynch rocks my socks off!!

Matthew MacNish said...

I forgot to mention the one and only thing that rocked about American Idol: Alicia Keys. She is the BEST EVER.

I should have put HER picture in this post.

And Jen, I'm not sure where I was going with the Anne Coulter thing either, this morning I can't remember what I was thinking or even what context she was mentioned in.

And Jane Lynch does rock, she's hilarious in Best of Show, but then again she's almost always pretty funny.

Bish Denham said...

I've missed the last to episodes. As for Madonna, not a huge fan. I can certainly appreciate her contribution to music (just like I appreciate the Rolling Stones) but that doesn't mean I like her stuff (just like I don't particularly care for what the Stones have done.) There, I've said it.

Sarah Ahiers said...

oop- can't read this post yet, haven't watched glee yet (watched Lost instead)

Creepy Query Girl said...

Funny notes! I've never even heard of Glee until i saw Jen, and now you, mention it in today's post! I live in France so we don't get most shows until a few years later and dubbed over in french- eck. Thank god for online streaming! I'll be checking that out, stat! BTW- I tried emailing you but since I don't have outlook, it won't let me. Do you have your address written out somewhere on your blog?

Tahereh said...

wow, cool. that was a really interesting idea! love that you took the time to write it all down!

thanks so much for sharing! :D

larainydays said...

I missed the show but now I don't have to watch it! Thanks for your comments on my YA excerpt yesterday. I appreciated your help.

Lola Sharp said...

I don't watch Glee, BUT:

I love the Darth Vader Head Case.
I love that you still think Madonna is sexy. Gives me hope for aging women everywhere.

I'm sorry to hear about your parents.

Lindsay said...

Great post.

I love Glee. Although it is so unfair that in the UK we are so behind you cause that episode sounds awesome.

Unknown said...

I can't believe I missed this episode! I've been a huge Madonna fan for.ev.er. I was one of the first five non-industry people at the end of the red carpet when she arrived for the Hollywood premier of Truth or Dare (she looked fabulous!). I saw her in concert a couple years ago -- and I own a near complete collection of her work. Wish I'd been on the ball and watched!

So, you're having a problem displaying your Green Blog button? I copied the HTML code from the website, then added a sidebar HTML/Script gadget and pasted it there. Let me know if there's any way I can help, either in another comment on my blog, or you can email me: heftynicki@writing.com

:)

Jessica Bell said...

This show sounds awesome. Shame I live in Greece. Is there anywhere online that I might be able to watch it?

Talli Roland said...

You are very disciplined to take notes while watching telly! Go Matthew!

This was really interesting to read even though I'm not a massive Glee fan. I like it but I just haven't been able to get into it that much.

Elana Johnson said...

Awesome notes! I did hear Miss Pillsbury say Ann Coultier's name. :)

Unknown said...

Wow! Very detailed!! I love Glee, but I missed this episode (I'm shielding my eyes from spoilers), but I'll come back when I get a chance to watch!

Zoe C. Courtman said...

Oh, man. I had to miss GLEE because LOST was on - and I *had* to see that episode! But, I've Tivo'd GLEE, so I'll be catching up on it soon. Meanwhile, the Vader Case took me ALL. THEWAY. BACK. LOLS!!

Arlee Bird said...

I really like the music and the productions in Glee. I've watched the show from the very beginning episode and I do think that so far this year has been not as good as last year, but superior to most shows on TV.

I really like Madonna's music and she's a great dancer. I own most of her albums and think they are all excellent. And I thought she did a superb job playing Eva Peron in Evita--it's one of my favorite movies.

Good TV show notes.

Lee
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