Songs of the Week (29/04/2010)

10 more songs for your listening pleasure...

Song of the Week: Foo Fighters - Everlong

"Everlong" is the second single taken from The Colour and the Shape, the second album from the Foo Fighters, released in 1997... Everlong is my favourite song of all time and probably one of the best songs I've ever seen performed live...

Other Songs This Week:

• Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man
• Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere
• Three Days Grace - Lost In You
• Dave Matthews Band - Dive In
• 3 Doors Down - Ticket To Heaven
• Weezer (feat. Lil Wayne) - Can't Stop Partying
• Florence and the Machine - Howl
• Nickelback - How You Remind Me
• MGMT - Electric Feel

Check out earlier posts for more song recommendations...

The Film Vaults #3 - Kick-Ass (2010)

This week's choice for "The Film Vaults" is extremely current as Kick-Ass is still in the cinema, but after getting my second viewing of it this weekend, I felt it deserved a place in the Vaults...

The film is incredibly funny from the word 'Go' and maintains a good flow of laughter throughout, but also manages to have a great action packed storyline...

I had my reservations at first about the cast - on the one hand we had the likes of Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka. McLovin), the beautiful Lyndsy Fonseca (one of my former choices for "Babe of the Week") and the hilarious Clark Duke (the funny guy from Sex Drive) which really made me want to see the film... On the other hand however the film also heavily features Nicholas "can't act to save my life" Cage, whom I generally can't stand and try to avoid any films he's in...

As it turned out however not even the ever annoying Mr. Cage could ruin this film for me and as well as Mintz-Plasse, Fonseca and Duke, you also get some great acting from relative newcomers (I hadn't seen them in anything before anyway) Aaron Johnson as Kick-Ass and Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl...

All in all its a fantastic film and well worth going to see, although if you're the type of person who gets an uneasy stomach when faced with blood and gore, be warned some of the scenes are filled with gory violence...

The Selection Box #4 - Survivor

While the majority of reality tv shows are pure and utter tripe, the original reality series, Survivor, is pure quality and therefore this week's pick for "The Selection Box"...

This year Survivor celebrates its 10 year anniversary and 20 seasons of the show...

When Survivor first aired back in 2000 it was a type of show no one had ever seen before - this was even before Big Brother hit the screens... From the first season onwards it has been fascinating to watch the strategic, social and physical game that is Survivor as well as watching contestants live through harsh conditions in the most simple scenarios...

At first Jeff Probst was just like any other presenter but as the series progressed it was clear that Probst was a pivotal part of the show and without him it just wouldn't be the same...

The current season, "Heroes VS Villains", sees the return of some of the best players of the previous 19 seasons and it is easily the best series so far - each week leaving me on the edge of my seat with amazing blindsides and epic gameplay...

Already guaranteed for another 2 seasons, this is one of the best shows out there in TV Land... Be sure to watch it next time its on...

Songs of the Week (22/04/2010)

10 more songs for your listening pleasure...
Song of the Week: Mumford and Sons - White Blank Page

"White Blank Page" features on Mumford & Sons' debut album, Sigh No More... Saw these guys live in March and to be honest the album doesn't do them justice and even the album is amazing... Unbelieveable band to see live... The smaller the venue the better...

Other Songs This Week:

• Three Days Grace - Life Starts Now
• Dave Matthews Band - Spaceman
• Weezer - Put Me Back Together
• The Prodigy - Warrior's Dance
• Travis - Sing
• Saving Abel - New Tattoo
• Daughtry - Life After You
• Ham Sandwich - St Christopher
• Lily Allen - 22

Check out earlier posts for more song recommendations...

The Film Vaults #2 - I Love You, Man (2009)

Although it's only been out a year, I Love You, Man is one of my favourite films of all time and I didn't have to search too far into the vaults to find it for this weeks "The Film Vaults"...

First off, two of my favourite comedy actors, Paul Rudd and Jason Segal, are the two leads in this Bromantic Comedy, so I had high expectations when going into the cinema last year... Usually when my expectations are that high I end up being disappointed after the film, but I Love You, Man did the opposite and I went around chanting "Slappa da Bass, Mon" for about a week and people thought I was insane until they got a chance to see the film themselves, and then we were all slappin' our bass'...

The entire cast are excellent and the film is well written and well paced, so that you don't leave feeling that it dragged a bit in the middle or that it was too short... You've also got a classic soundtrack, which heavily features Rush...

As I say about everything here, if you haven't already seen it, go watch it...

The Selection Box #3 - The Inbetweeners

E4's hit comedy series The Inbetweeners is easily the funniest shows on television in the last 5 years and therefore a fine choice to be picked for this week's "The Selection Box"...

I think the reason The Inbetweeners is so popular because the characters are charicatures of people everybody knows.

The show has already spun out two seasons of six episodes each and a third season, also of six episodes is currently being filmed, as well as plans for a feature film being made...

From the moment someone shouted "Briefcase Wanker" in the first episode of the show, I was hooked and can easily watch the same episode five or six times in a short window of time and still find it funny on the sixth viewing... which isn't something easily achieved by a show Graham Linehan is not involved in...

Neil punching the a fish to death is only one of the scenes you don't want to miss in this show, so if you haven't already seen it - go over to 4oD right now or purchase the box sets... You know you want to...

Songs of the Week (15/04/2010)

10 more songs for your listening pleasure...

Song of the Week: Three Days Grace - Get Out Alive

"Get Out Alive" is featured on One-X, the second album from Canadian band Three Days Grace... An excellent song from one of my favourite bands, who aren't too well known this side of the pond, so be sure to check out more of their songs...

Other Songs This Week:

• Prefab Sprout - The King of Rock 'n Roll
• Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
• Picturehouse - Everybody Loves My Girl
• Morning Runner - Gone Up In Flames
• Daughtry - You Don't Belong
• Dodgy - Staying Out for the Summer
• Efterklang - Caravan
• Saving Abel - Addicted
• Kate Nash - Foundations

Check out earlier posts for more song recommendations...

The Film Vaults #1 - Pretty In Pink (1986)

Being a huge fan of '80s movies, the Brat Pack, and John Hughes films, Pretty In Pink is a good movie to kick off 'The Film Vaults'...

Directed by Howard Deutch, written by John Hughes, and starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy and Jon Cryer, Pretty In Pink puts current high school films to shame - while it deals with the same issues as 21st century teen movies such as, love triangles and school dances, Pretty In Pink does it in a way that isn't vomit inducinlgly cringeworthy and the viewers can relate to the film's characters...

Cryer steals the show as Duckie, a character very different from his current role as Alan Harper on Two and a Half Men...

Pretty In Pink is an '80s cult classic, so if you haven't seen it yet, get out from under your rock and go watch it...

The Selection Box #2 - Oz

Possibly the most underrated and amazing drama ever to have graced the small screen with its presence, Oz was an obvious choice for 'The Selection Box'...

It kicked off in 1997 on HBO as the networks first self produced hour long drama. Set in Oswald State Penitentiary, Oz puts all other prison dramas to shame and ultimately scares the beejaysus out of its viewers, causing them to live life on the straight and narrow, so they never have to be subjected to life behind bars...

The show has such a huge cast and is one of the first TV dramas where no character was safe from being killed off or written out, no matter how pivotal they seemed to be in regards to the plot, which only added to the excitement of the series...

Oz opened doors for many actors who later went on to star in shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Lost, Dexter, 24 and Fringe, amongst others - kisckstarting careers for people such as Harold Perrineau, J.K. Simmons, Dean Winters, Kirk Acevedo, Lauren Velez, Christopher Meloni, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Zayas, J.D. Williams, Seth Gilliam, Lance Reddick, Reg E. Cathey, John Doman, Domenick Lombardozzi and Edie Falco...

Lasting 56 episodes and ending in 2003, this gritty drama is a must see...

Songs of the Week (08/04/2010)

Here's ten songs that I've been listening to a lot lately and are worth checking out if you're not already familiar with them...

Song of the Week: Toto - Africa

"Africa" is the trademark song of one of the finest rock bands of the 1980s - Toto... Easily the greatest song of the 80s and up there with the greatest songs of all time... You can't beat a bit of "Africa" to get you in a good mood...

Other Songs This Week:

• Mumford and Sons - Hold On To What You Believe
• Crossfade - Already Gone
• Seether - Like Suicide
• Creed - One Last Breath
• Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son
• Rush - Tom Sawyer
• Three Days Grace - Scared
• The Lynchburg Mob - Edgar Town
• 3 Doors Down - Loser

Check out earlier posts for more song recommendations...

The Selection Box #1 - Doctor Who

Over the course of the foreseeable future I'll be selecting my favourite shows from the box, whether they be past or present, and blogging about them here at 'The Pink Banana Hypothesis'...

As Matt Smith embarked on his first adventure as the Eleventh Doctor this weekend, it seemed only apt that Doctor Who would be my selection for the first edition of 'The Selection Box'...

Doctor Who is a well known institution at this stage and anyone who doesn't know about it has probably spent the last several decades curled up in a cave...

Eleven have officially played the role of the Doctor over the course of time and I'm sure there'll be more to come in the future... William Hartnell was the first to step out of the TARDIS and onto our screens way back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth... He was followed by Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy before the BBC cancelled the series in 1989 after over a quarter of a century on the box... In 1996 the Doctor returned for a TV movie, this time in the guise of Paul McGann, who many fans, myself included try to forget about as often as possible - hence my refusal to include him in the above pictures... Almost a decade later in 2005, the series returned to the BBC with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and a much bigger budget for the show... Eccleston dropped out after only 13 episodes and was replaced by David Tennant, who had a successful 4 year run until he was succeeded by Matt Smith this year... While many fans argue over who portrayed the Doctor best, the two names that come to the forefront the most are Tom Baker and David Tennant, who coincidentally are the two Doctors who have clocked up the most screentime in the course of the series...

The Doctor rarely travels alone through time and is ofter accompanied by several companions at once, whom he constantly has to rescue from dangerous aliens...

While the cast continuosly changes on the show, the one constant is the exterior of the TARDIS, which has always been a blue 1950's Police Box, while the interior of the TARDIS has undergone several changes...

So, what makes the show so great? It's about an alien being who travels through time and space in a police box, who regenerates into a new body every time he dies... It's the perfect mixture of adventure, comedy, drama and sci-fi... What more do you want?

Songs of the Week (01/04/2010)

Here's ten songs that I've been listening to a lot lately and are worth checking out if you're not already familiar with them...

Song of the Week: The Heathers - Remember When

"Remember When" is the debut single from Dublin based duo, Heathers... Most people will recognise the song from the 2010 Discover Ireland ad... It's a cracking tune and they're from Dublin, so its always good promoting a bit of home grown music...

Other Songs This Week:

• Mumford and Sons - Liar
• Dave Matthews Band - Baby Blue
• Three Days Grace - Let It Die
• Trapt - Echo
• Thirteen Senses - Into The Fire
• Crossfade - Colors
• Travis - Love Will Come Through
• Placebo - Running Up That Hill
• Vampire Weekend - Cousins

I'll definitely be posting many more song lists, because not only do I love music, but I also love lists...

New Blog - Wahey!!!

So, boredom got the better of me and I decided to give the blogging thing another go... Rather than revamping the old blog, I decided to start afresh and The Pink Banana Hypothesis was born - don't ask me why I came up with that name, I just liked it...
Pretty much for the time being, I'll be mostly posting about Music, Movies, TV Shows, Books and stuff that I like, but depending on my mood, who knows what I could end up writing...

Follow me on twitter ( http://twitter.com/cian_taaffe ) for updates on comedy gigs and whatnot or find me on Facebook...

I think that's all the formalities out of the way, so lets get this shit underway!