#the rockumentary episode

[castle-dominion]

The problem with this one is that the music takes place while other stuff is happening so I can't get the whole song. But dang I like music & I like them. But do they,, have their amps there & everything they need to start making music with the detectives?

Also no fandom is complete without a rockstar fic & this is good material.

Love how Ryan said he's the one who taught Esposito how to sing but Ryan is not singing

The drama of it too lol. Too bad my voice has actually lost range on T. I used to be able to sing higher but I can barely sing lower

[davidaleksandersen]

Mistaken For Strangers - the ultimate rockumentary?

There are rockumentaries, and then there’s “Mistaken For Strangers,” a delightful, offbeat film about The National that makes ‘Spinal Tap’ look like an episode of ‘Downton Abbey.’ Tom Berninger, the lesser-known brother of The National’s frontman Matt Berninger, finds himself cast in the unfamiliar role of a roadie for the band’s world tour. Unfamiliar, of course, unless you consider slacking…

[tvrundownusa]

tvrundown USA 2023.05.10

Wednesday, May 10th:

(exclusive): The Muppets Mayhem (dsn+, rockumentary premiere, all 10 eps), "Becoming Ian Brady" (amazon, true-crime docuseries, all 3 parts), Dance Brothers (netflix, Scandinavian drama , all 10 eps), African Queens (netflix, docuseries season 2 "Cleopatra" available, all 4 parts)

(streaming weekly): Saint X (hulu), "Algiers, America" (hulu, part 5/5, finale), "Class of '09" (hulu, suspense thriller premiere, first 2 eps), My Family (hulu, season 1 "Final Episode"), Ted Lasso (apple+), The Big Door Prize (apple+, penultimate), The Challenge: World Championship (Para+, penultimate), The Good Bad Mother (netflix)

(specials): Republican Town Hall (CNN, former president in New Hampshire)

(hour 1): Chicago Med (NBC), The Flash (theCW, part 2 of 4), The Masked Singer (FOX, penultimate), Survivor (CBS), Jeopardy! Masters (ABC, tournament night 3 of 10)

(hour 2): Chicago Fire (NBC), Riverdale (theCW), House of Payne (BET) / . / Assisted Living (BET), Farmer Wants a Wife (FOX, penultimate), NOVA (PBS, "Hidden Volcano Abyss"), Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (ABC, season 3 finale)

(hour 3): Chicago P.D. (NBC), True Lies (CBS, penultimate), Dave (FXX, ~45mins), Digman! (COM, season 1 finale) / . / Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens (COM), "The Game Show Show" (ABC, docuseries, part 1 of 4), Single Drunk Female (Freeform, 60mins, season 2 finale), We Need to Talk About America (FUSE, season 2 opener, new time)

[lost-pet-city]

Podcast Rec List that No One Asked For

Hey every fucking podcast rec list has the same podcasts, and most of them are pretty well known anyway. So, here is a podcast rec list I’m making, that no one asked for, with some lesser known podcasts that I think really deserve more love!

What’s the Frequency? This podcast is bizarre, psychedelic, surreal, and abstract. Set in 1940s Los Angeles. Radio show the town is obsessed with, twisted advertisements, private detectives, a corrupt police force, murder, gore, a sitcom, a missing typewriter... Seriously... there is so much going on in this podcast. There’s only 12 episodes, so stick it out even if you don’t like it at first.

 The Last Movie Okay, a PNW study, Public Radio Alliance, spinoff of Tanis. This one, like the last one, is pretty well known, but no one fucking talks about it. And I don’t know why! Unlike Tanis and the Black Tapes, this one is neat and tidy, wrapped up in a little bow. Basically, Nic searches for a movie, nicknamed “the last movie” that reportedly causes outbursts of murder, orgy, and suicide. Yeah, weird stuff. But that’s everything this studio creates. Is this movie real? an urban legend? Who knows. Certainly not Nic. Mockumentary. There is a season 2, but season 1 is fulfilling enough as well.

The Far Meridian WHAT THE FUCK. Why does no one talk about this podcast? It’s melancholy, abstract. Just, bleeding like a wound. An agoraphobic woman who lives in an out of commission lighthouse wakes up one day and realizes her house now transports itself to a new places every night. She’s barely left the house in years, but now this is her chance to find her missing brother. Ghosts, regret, stars

Olive Hill This is one of my favorite podcasts. Set up to appear as a true crime podcast, similar to Limetown, this podcast investigates the disappearance and death of two girls who separately, yet simultaneously, stopped what they were doing walked into the woods entranced and never returned. This podcast examines parallels, religion, possession, small town politics, love, and more. It’s absolutely beautiful.\

Limetown Most people who are into podcasts have listened to or at least heard about limetown. Idc. Listen to limetown, now, go do it right now. 

Blackwood I don’t recall ever hearing anyone talk about this podcast before, and it’s a shame! This is a sort of found footage / rockumentary style show. Three teens decide their summer project will be investigating the local legend of the Blackwood Bugman. Horror ensues. This podcast was really sweet and relatable.

Janus Descending A nonchronological show uncovering the death of two astronauts, xenobiologists. Only 13 episodes. This podcast seriously hurt me.

I’m Looking for Vera Louis jk this podcast doesn't exist.

[longforyesterday]

Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr admitted that they initially found Yoko Ono’s regular presence at the Beatles’ recording sessions during 1968 unusual and sometimes irritating. The band normally did not welcome regular observers into the studio, and this included girlfriends and wives. Though Ono did not break up the Beatles, popular culture content since the Beatles’ demise is laced with references to Yoko’s supposed role in the band’s dissolution. The “intrusive girlfriend” character that Yoko is said to represent in the Beatles story has appeared, for example, in the 1984 fictional “rockumentary” This Is Spinal Tap, and in the US–New Zealand HBO TV series Flight of the Conchords (2007–09). The latter featured an episode in its first season entitled “Yoko,” whereby one member of the show’s musical duo is given grief for spending time with his new girlfriend who is referred to as Yoko. The notion that Ono had somehow single-handedly destroyed the world’s favorite rock band was also intensely lampooned in the British Beatles parody The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978). John Lennon’s fictional counterpart, Ron Nasty, is shown with his new girlfriend Chastity, who is described as both “a simple German girl whose father invented World War Two” and an artist who champions “destruco art” — sculptures which are created by dropping them from tall buildings. In the one scene in which she appears, Chastity is dressed in a Nazi uniform. According to co-writer, British comedian and actor Eric Idle, a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, both John and Yoko found making the “Yoko” character Hitler’s daughter hilariously funny. So excessive was the vilification of Ono during and after the Beatles’ demise that she and Lennon must have needed to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all.

Christine Feldman-Barrett, A Women’s History of the Beatles

[fishklok]

i still can't believe there wasn't a rockumentary formatted episode of metalocalypse

[dezwade]

real life & reel life is the best episode for all the obvious reasons - fun callbacks, character dynamics we dont usually get to see, auslly moments - but also bcus Austin's record company signed off on the rockumentary, so you'd assume it would be a big budget production, right? but nope the entire production crew is just a sixteen yr old with a camcorder

[jasmancer]

Nobody asked but heres some yewchube suggestions if u need something new rn

Channel full of MTV unplugged sessions and Rockumentary episodes

Playlist of every X-Men Evolution Episode

True Facts (cw for occasional graphic wildlife stock footage)

Defunctland

Sarah Schauer

Incredibly tiny diorama maker

Very enthusiastic plush historical accounts

Art history through food

Aquarium Gardening

Cabaret full 1993 televised production (cw for N*zism, holocaust imagery, physical abuse)

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

Chris Fleming's full Showpig stand up

Please for the love of god watch GAYLE

Dollightful frankenstiening dolls into new dolls

The Gay and Wonderous Life of Caleb Gallo

Trash Theory

Adventures from Moominvalley

Emmymadeinjapan aka a funky little mom trying funky little multicultural and unconventional foods

Odd Tinkering restoring a random array of items

Knife god Kiwami Japan

Askamortician debunking death myths and telling weird educational death stories

Malinda Herman :)

Learn professional paper mache techniques!

How to kill horror villains (and some non horror ones) (cw for gore/horror imagery)

The Crafsman

Hysterical video game fandubs I reference too much

Puppet making

Cecelia Condit's surreal short films (cw for horror elements, blood, stalking, etc.)

Reptile rescue

Kitty rescue

Jim Lee comic illustrating livestream VODs

[unicornery]

For my own amusement, I started tracking how the songs from the Billboard Hot 100 from this week in 1974 have been used in movie soundtracks. Feature Films only people! As you read, you will see the “gimmes” that made me think of the idea, but I’m putting this behind a cut because there ended up being so many which had a soundtrack match. As a reminder, you can follow along as I do the Hot 100 each week corresponding to which classic AT40 and VJ Big 40 get played on SiriusXM ��70s on 7 and ‘80s on 8 respectively with my ever-changing Spotify playlist. 

100. “Beyond the Blue Horizon” - Lou Christie. This one is a cheat because when I looked it up on Spotify it showed up on the Rain Man soundtrack. The only song I could have told you off the top of my head was in Rain Main is the Belle Stars’ version of “Iko Iko.” Rain Man marked the first soundtrack appearance for Christie’s version. 

98. “The Air That I Breathe” - The Hollies. Very memorable appearance in The Virgin Suicides, which had the score done by, wait for it, French electronica duo Air. The song would go on to be heard in other movies. 

90. “Billy Don’t Be a Hero” - Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. The Paper Lace version appears in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Both acts topped the charts with the song on opposite sides of the pond: Paper Lace in the UK and Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods in the US. [Update: the BD&H version may be in "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday"] 

87. “Hollywood Swinging” - Kool & the Gang. This oft-sampled track first appeared in a feature film in the 2005 Get Shorty sequel Be Cool. 

84. “La Grange” - ZZ Top. Armageddon first, followed by others. 

68. “Band on the Run” - Paul McCartney and Wings.  I didn’t search for this at first because I didn’t think there would be anything, but then Jet was on the chart at #27, so I did a twofer search on imdb. Jet has not been in any films (save “One Hand Clapping, a rockumentary on Paul, which I don’t count for purposes of this discussion) but “Band on the Run” appears in The Killing Fields, in a shocking scene that contrasts the light tone of the pop song with the horrors of the Khmer Rouge’s executions of Cambodian citizens. 

66. “For the Love of Money” - The O’Jays. Has been used many times, according to IMDb the first feature film use was the Richard Pryor roman a clef (if I’m using that right, I only know it from Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man) Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. 

59. “Rock Around the Clock” - Bill Haley and his Comets. Notably used in Blackboard Jungle, the song is on this 1974 chart for its appearance in American Graffiti. 

55. “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” - Rick Derringer. First one that comes to mind is Dazed and Confused bc I had that soundtrack, but it has been in others.

49. “Love’s Theme” - the Love Unlimited Orchestra. The swirling strings of this song indicate that someone is indeed falling in love. That’s my way of saying, if you think you haven’t heard this, you have. Imdb has it in Mean Girls, among others. 

47. “The Way We Were” - Barbra Streisand. The titular song of the 1973 film The Way We Were, starring Barbra and Robert Redford. A little long, but worth a watch bc Barbra is amazing in it. At the 1974 Academy Awards, Marvin Hamslich won Best Original Song honors for this tune, and was awarded Best Original Dramatic Score for his other musical work on the film. I always think of Lisa Loopner’s big crush on him.  

44. “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” - Stevie Wonder. First feature film usage was the 1998 Eddie Murphy flop Holy Man, which surprised me as it’s such a good song, you’d think it would have been in something earlier. Notable given Eddie’s impression of Stevie Wonder he performed on SNL! 

42. “Rock On” - David Essex. Michael Damian’s cover (or remix as described by Patton Oswalt) was recorded for the 1989 2 Coreys classic Dream a Little Dream, and per imdb, David Essex’s original appears in the alternate-history comedy Dick, from 1999. 

37. “Oh Very Young” - Cat Stevens/Yusef Islam. Surprisingly, this sweet song appears in the gross-out bowling comedy Kingpin. 

36. “Jungle Boogie” - Kool & the Gang. This song may have been used in the most films and tv shows of any I’ve researched so far, but its first appearance was in Pulp Fiction. 

34. “The Payback - Part 1” - James Brown. First feature film appearance was in 1995′s Dead Presidents. A different James Brown track appears on the soundtrack for racist-ass Melly Gibson’s Payback from 1999. 

33. “Help Me” - Joni Mitchell.  Another why’d-it-take-ya-so-long shocker, this mellow tune first appeared in the 2018 sci-fi movie Kin, narrowly beating Welcome to Marwen from 2019. 

31. “The Entertainer” - Marvin Hamlisch. The title theme from the Redford/Newman team-up The Sting. Hamlisch won a record-tying third Academy Award in 1974 for Best Original Score for The Sting.  It seems at this time Best Original Score and Best Original Dramatic Score were separate categories. Hamlisch would win Grammys for both this and “The Way We Were,” eventually becoming an EGOT winner in 1995.

30. “Eres Tú” - Mocedades. This Spanish Eurovision entry notably appears in the buddy comedy Tommy Boy when Chris Farley and David Spade’s characters sing along with the radio. 

28. “Midnight at the Oasis” - Maria Muldaur. Catherine O’Hara and Fred Willard perform their own rendition in the Christopher Guest film Waiting for Guffman. That should be all you need, but imdb has the first film appearance for the song as 1995′s Falcon and the Snowman. 

24. “Let it Ride” - Bachman-Turner Overdrive. This lesser-known but not less great BTO jam has appeared in a handful of films, the first being Ash Wednesday, starring Elijah Wood and directed by Edward Burns and not Garry Marshall. Note: it does not seem to be in the Richard Dreyfuss gambling movie Let It Ride, a classic VHS cover of my youth. 

18. “Mockingbird” - James Taylor and Carly Simon. Memorably performed by Harry and Lloyd in the dog van in Dumb and Dumber, later joined by a Latinx family on guitar and vocals.  Before that, Beverly D’Angelo and Chevy Chase’s characters also sang it on their road trip in National Lampoon’s Vacation. I couldn’t find an instance where James and Carly’s version played in a movie but I am sayin’ there’s a chance. That it could be someday. 

16. “Tubular Bells” - Mike Oldfield. This instrumental is best known for being the theme to The Exorcist, but I was surprised to learn from the Wiki entry that it was not written for the film. Tubular Bells or something that’s meant to sound like it has been in a ton of other things, generally uncredited. Of note: Mike Oldfield would go on to do the score for The Killing Fields. 

14. “Seasons in the Sun” - Terry Jacks. Now here is the type of song that ‘70s haters point to as an example of the whiny wuss rock that they feel over-dominated the era. It’s not one of my favorites but I appreciate it for how weird it is. I suppose being translated into English from a French/Belgian poem will do that to ya. Before I did my search, I imagined I would find it in a Farrelly Brothers movie or two, possibly the Anchorman sequel. However, the only feature film match I found was the 2002 indie flick Cherish, a movie I have never seen despite being confronted by the cover many times at rental places over the years. Before today, when I watched the trailer, I would have told you it starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and was about “a band trying to make it.” It turns out I am thinking of the 1999 film The Suburbans. Anyway Cherish seems aggressively indie and very of-its-time in a way that makes me want to watch it. 

13. “Dancing Machine” - The Jackson 5. The song appears in the Blaxploitation spoof I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, as well as the movie of Starsky & Hutch.

11. “Lookin’ For A Love” - Bobby Womack. This was in the movie of The Ladies Man starring Tim Meadows as his SNL character Leon Phelps. I almost skipped this one but I’m glad I didn’t because Tim Meadows rules.

8. “The Loco-Motion” - Grand Funk Railroad (the single and album it was on are credited to Grand Funk). We have our second song from the Kirsten Dunst/Michelle Williams movie Dick. Since that was satirizing Nixon and Watergate, well done to the filmmakers for including these 1974 hits!  It appeared in one earlier film, My Girl 2. 

5. “Come and Get Your Love” - Redbone. Known to modern listeners for appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy. [Sidebar: if you can find a way to listen to the With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus episode T.G.I.G.O.T.G.OST (Thank God It’s the Guardians of the Galaxy Original Soundtrack) with Sean Clements and Hayes Davenport, do it!] The song first appeared in Dance Me Outside, a Canadian film about First Nations youth, which is a cool parallel with Redbone being composed of Native American musicians. “Come and Get Your Love” is also in Dick! 

4. “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me” - Gladys Knight & the Pips. Another SNL feature pops up on our list, 1994′s It’s Pat: The Movie. 

3. “Hooked on a Feeling” - Blue Swede. ALSO known to modern listeners as being from the GOTG, but possibly only in the trailer? I’m fuzzy. The song ALSO also appears in Dick, and its first feature film appearance was Reservoir Dogs. 

2. “Bennie and the Jets” - Elton John. You know it, you love it, you cackle at the gag in Mystery Team. IMDb has this song down as first appearing in the low budget feature Aloha, Bobby and Rose, from 1975. It is ALSO in My Girl 2, with proper credit for Sir Elton. 

1. “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” - MFSB featuring The Three Degrees. IMDb says this appeared in the Al Pacino film Carlito’s Way, and I have no reason to doubt them because it means we are done! Thanks for readin’ and rockin’ along. 

[thearthousetv]

Series Premiere: Episode 1 of ‘Bry’Nt Wants It All’ Rockumentary Docuseries Now Streaming

[castle-dominion]

*sings the castle theme*

[evenstevensranked]

#1: Season 3, Episode 5 - “Band on the Roof”

ANNNND... “BAND ON THE ROOF” TAKES THE CAKE!

I cannot believe I’m publishing the #1 ranking. Next month will mark two whole years since I created this blog and now, after countless hours spent on 64 reviews, we’re finally here! Never thought I’d see the day. I never anticipated that I’d be this emotional about it either. I’ll save the mushiness and some final thoughts for the end of the post. 

When The Twitty-Stevens Connection gets back together, Tom shoots a documentary -- excuse me, “rockumentary” -- detailing the highs and lows of the band’s reunion! What we get is a rollercoaster of an episode featuring (almost) all of our favorite characters, the most legendary quote in the entire series, a mockumentary approach to filming that was ahead of its time, a heartwarming plot for our two main siblings, and one hell of a catchy song to boot. 

For the last time... 

Let’s get into it!

I know I throw the word "Iconic" around loosely sometimes but this is genuinely an iconic episode for the series. I feel like everyone remembers this episode. Even if you didn't watch the show too often, you still remember this episode. This one kinda makes me wish that Even Stevens was one of the first popular American comedy sitcoms to pioneer the mockumentary style gimmick for the entire series. (i.e. The Office, Modern Family, Parks & Rec) Because it works here. Really well. I’ve mentioned a few times before that The Office is my other all-time favorite comedy show, so I absolutely ADORE those strong vibes here. 

According to Wikipedia and their list of “Mockumentaries” (which includes this episode!) -- as far as the genre in television goes, it seemed to become a big thing in the UK first and then spread to places like Australia and Canada. The United States mockumentary television format boom started in the early-mid 2000s, specifically at or around 2003 with Arrested Development and then in 2005 with the humble beginnings of The Office. "Band on the Roof” premiered in 2002. Hmmm. Very interesting! Not sayin’ Even Stevens was ahead of its time once again but that’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s almost like this show trial-runs ideas before they take off. First with “Influenza” and then this. Even though this episode was definitely more of a spoof of VH1′s “Behind The Music,” it still totally falls into that mockumentary TV category. 

It opens with the introduction to the documentary, narrated by Tom in a super unnaturally deep voice with a little reverb slapped on there for dramatic effect: “First, there was The Alan Twitty Project... Then, there was The Louis Stevens Experience... The coming together of these two musical forces begat the supergroup The Twitty-Stevens Connection! ...But the band broke up temporarily when bassist Artie Ryan’s mom made him take pottery lessons.” 

Tragic.

Tom introduces himself as “Thomas Gribalski: Rockumentary Filmmaker.” Wow, he’s wasting no time loading up his IMDb page. You document one Junior High band and it’s all uphill from there. He goes on to explain that when The Twitty-Stevens Connection got back together, Louis Stevens asked him to capture those “little moments” for them to look back on once the band becomes “rich and famous.” But, of course, no road to stardom is without its bumps. 

I wanna know how Tom, a 14-year-old, got this swanky studio to record in...

It cuts to band rehearsal in the Stevens basement where they’re jamming to “Crazy” from the Battle of the Bands episode!! Everything’s fine until the band randomly stops playing in the middle of the song and Louis goes off on a never-ending drum solo that he refers to as “a groove.” It always bothered me how the music just… stops. Why did everyone but Louis decide to stop playing for seemingly no reason?! Whoever was in charge of audio here couldn’t be bothered to make it sound more organic lol. It’s really weird and abrupt. Sorry for the nitpicking there. 

I love how Tom got that shot of a messy hamper in the foreground. It really amps up the grittiness. 

It’s pretty great how Louis subtly changed roles from the band’s manager to the band’s drummer. For once, this was an arc in Season 3 that actually aired in the correct order. In Episode 2, Louis became interested in playing the drums and was gifted a drumset. In Episode 4 he started taking lessons, and here in Episode 5, he’s officially the drummer of the band. Shia is playing for real here as well! So that’s very cool. 

While Louis is drumming his lil heart out during his self-indulgent extended solo, it cuts to shots of everyone killing time and I love it. 

Tom, lol. 

Ren eventually rips the drumsticks out of Louis’ hands and the two start arguing. Tawny reminds them that they promised to get along if the band got back together. Just then, we hear that shrill, annoying and unmistakeable voice chime in: “Can I say something?” The camera searches around until it lands on Beans just chilling there like he owns the place. Oh my god. 

Louis: “Where is he? BEANS! HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!?!” -- Why is that mockumentary style sooo funny though?! The shaky camera looking around and zooming in is what makes this.

I seriously wish every episode was filmed this way. But honestly, just getting this liiiittle glimpse into what a mockumentary version of Even Stevens might’ve been like is enough to make me feel #blessed. If a reboot ever happened, I’d definitely looove to see it reborn à la Modern Family for at least an arc or one special season. I know the gimmick is a little outplayed at this point but I mean, the Stevens are an eccentric enough family for a documentary crew to follow! Am I wrong?! All of the flagship American mock-doc shows have already ended or are ending soon. The door’s open for a new one. Just sayin’. 

It cuts to Louis ranting about Beans in the first interview portion or “talking head” of the documentary. This is the greatest thing. Holy crap. He says: “Beans is like that policeman in Terminator 2, you know who I’m talking about? I swear, he goes liquid! He can fit through cracks in windows... under doors... through little keyholes!!” And right on cue, Beans appears outta thin air -- “I’m hungry. Let���s get a sandwich!” Again, the camera work makes this 10x funnier and Shia’s face is just too good: 

Note: “Terminator 2″ is yet another completely solid reference to make! 

Something I’d like to point out before I forget: While reviewing the series, I couldn't help but notice that the show could be even funnier if there was no background music all the time. (I tested that theory with this edit and was proven correct, tbh.) If you pay attention.. you'll notice that there's some sort of background music during almost every scene. Sometimes it works if it's heightening a moment or adding some flavor comedically. But during scenes where there’s just dialogue, I feel like it would be much better with silence -- because 1. It's more raw/realistic, and 2. the performances/writing is already so strong, it doesn't need extra sound clogging the material. And that's one of the reasons why this episode is so great! It's dead silent the entire time except for the Twitty-Stevens songs of course and some transitional music for the documentary. I love it. 

So, yeah. Turns out Beans is a bassist?! He walks over to Artie and tells him “you’re horrible. Read my lips -- take a lesson!” Artie quits on the spot and leaves in a fit of rage (”I don't have to take this! I’M ARTIE RYAN!”). Beans backs up his insult by showing off his sick bass skillz to the gang, immediately earning himself a place in the band as Artie’s replacement. I love how Beans isn’t even touching the neck of the bass at all at one point. Seems legit. 

It cuts to an interview with Artie and it’s so good: “I was thinking about quitting the band anyway. I didn’t like the direction it was going... NOWHERE. Since then, I’ve started my own band. Artie Ryan and the Funky Kats. I had some promotional materials made up!! Tom, you want a free one?!” 

Tom (off-screen): “N.. no, thanks.” 

Also... A frisbee?! LOL. I had to write out that whole Artie quote because it’s the last we hear from him in this episode and Artie is the best.

Next, it cuts to an interview with Twitty who claims that there was a whole new energy after Beans joined the band. It’s hilarious because Beans is this tiny, annoying 8-year-old, yet Twitty’s talking about him as if he’s some amazingly respected bassist who helped take them to the next level. He goes on to say that the ~revitalized spirit~ Beans brought to the table motivated everyone to work on new material... Including Louis & Ren, who teamed up to write a song together!! Ahh! It shows us the two of them writing out the skeleton of “Another Perfect Day.” I always laughed at how they’re not just writing lyrics like most middle schoolers would do... Nah. They’ve whipped out the staff paper and suddenly know music theory like it’s nothing. They’re literally transcribing their ideas by ear. I’m a Berklee grad and I still struggle like hell with theory. 

Donnie happens to walk by and notices that his brother and sister are getting along for the first time, like, ever... and calls for Steve and Eileen to come quick and bear witness to it themselves!! 

This show throws in some great little lines here and there that are easy to miss sometimes. When Steve and Eileen come running, Steve shouts “Donnie! Hang in there! You still have 5 minutes left on that hot oil treatment!!” thinking Donnie desperately needed help with his hair. HAHA! I never paid attention to that until recently. We get interviews with Donnie as well as Steve and Eileen here. 

Donnie: “It was just... the sweetest thing. I wanted to hug them!! But I didn’t wanna ruin my hair. Wait!!! That sounded stupid. Don’t use that, ok?” 

Gotta love the trophies as a backdrop lol. 

Eileen: “It was amazing! It was as if the music brought them closer together.” 

Steve: “Those were the happiest days of our lives. It was bliss! Sheer bliss!” 

Hey! This is real stuff, though. Never underestimate the power of music!!

One of the funniest things about this episode is that Tom prefaced the documentary by saying the reunion happened a mere TWO WEEKS AGO! These interviews are so extra, as if they’re recalling something that happened years ago when it literally just happened and is fresh in their memories. It’s great. 

We get a voiceover from Tom elaborating on Steve and Eileen’s sentiments, telling us that Louis and Ren had “reached a new level in their relationship” over corny footage of them casually playing freaking cat’s cradle like a couple’a besties! hahaha. 

At their next rehearsal, the band starts working on “Another Perfect Day.” Once they have it down pretty well, Louis decides that they have a hit on their hands and need to do something big to get the word out. He comes up with the idea to hold a free concert on the school roof. Twitty interjects “Ya know, that’s not a bad idea because The Beatles did a free concert on the roof once!” Tawny adds: “So did U2!” and Louis finishes: “And now... The Twitty-Stevens Connection.” -- As if they’re anywhere near the level of either of those bands and should easily be mentioned in the same breath. That always cracked me up. (Speaking of The Beatles, the title of this episode is supposed to be a play on the Paul McCartney song “Band On The Run.” Or at least, that’s what I’ve always assumed.) Also, take a look at their single art. Amazing. 

Things start to go sour now. Everyone’s on board for the rooftop concert except for Ren. That’s a shocker! She’s totally against the idea. She agrees that free publicity is great as long as you’re not violating any rules. She even double checks with Wexler who confirms that students on the roof is “strictly forbidden.” 

At lunch the next day, Louis is super excited about the concert and giving Twitty and Tawny a rundown of his plans to set everything up. He says they should “get there early. Really early. Like... before school starts early” so they can get all the equipment and set it up on the roof. Another little exchange that’s easy to miss here is between Twitty and Tawny. Twitty says: “Sweet. What if we wore camouflage?” And Tawny sarcastically bites back: “That is a brilliant idea. What if we dressed up as giant metal vents to blend in with the roof decor!” HAHAHA. I’m just imagining that in my head right now and all I can picture is them looking like Eric Matthews dressed as a couch. Oh, yeah. They’ll blend in, no problem. 

When Ren starts approaching their lunch table, Louis invites her over yelling “Hey, sis!!” Awww. Since we all know that Ren is practically Vice Principal, he asks her for help and advice on how to get up to the roof and such. But then it does a hard cut to Tom:

This needed to be gif’d. 

Ren starts blabbing about how they’re forbidden to step foot on the roof and that she got a permit to perform in a public park instead, but Louis cuts her off before she can ramble any further: “Ren. You’re chickening out.” Ren protests and insists that she’s not a chicken and is just being smart about the situation, but Louis ain’t having it and explodes: “JIMINY H. CRICKETS THE THIRD JR., REN!!! We’re not robbing a bank or anything!! We’re singing on the roof!!!"-- I love this so much. He tells her to take a risk for once in her life. But, Ren being Ren, decides that she doesn’t want to get in trouble and essentially quits the band. As Ren storms away from them, Louis stands his ground and shouts at the top of his lungs: 

Possibly the single most-quoted quote of the entire series. Actually iconic. I have this quote on my Facebook, it's my © footer quote on this very website, people have used this quote in their high school yearbooks. Yeah. It’s a big deal. Plus, it’s a pretty great quote to live by if you think about it tbh. 

Ren leaving the band was only the beginning of their downfall. I love this photo the ‘documentary’ uses to illustrate the in-fighting lol. 

There’s super melodramatic music with an ~emotional~ guitar lick playing here. It always gets stuck in my head. I’m humming it right now. As hilarious as the music is, it actually does make me feel a little upset... 

And just like the ending of an America’s Next Top Model episode, Ren disappears from this photo of the band: 

At home that evening, an instrumental knock-off of “Kiss Me” starts playing in the background of the doc while Ren contemplates the meaning of life. Tom does a voiceover saying that Ren’s decision to leave the band would lead her down a path to “self-discovery.”

She ends up having a heart-to-heart with Eileen about why she’s so reluctant to take risks. We get a glimpse into Ren’s childhood with “home video” showing her being a total caution freak at her 8th birthday party. She ate a single potato chip so she waits an extra 20 minutes before going into the kiddie pool with her friends. I’d like to point out that Young Ren is played by Alexa Nikolas, who would later go on to be a regular on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101. 

Eileen assures Ren that she’ll find something worth taking a risk for someday and go for it!

CUT TO THE DAY OF THE CONCERT! Ren’s decision to leave the band causes everyone else to rethink the rooftop performance as well. Twitty decides to back out because he has one too many detentions already and can’t afford another. His initial poor attempt at an excuse plays out in the most hilarious way possible. (”TWITTY, I WROTE THAT NOTE FOR YOU LAST WEEK!”) Tawny just agrees with Ren. She decides it’s not a good idea and peaces out. And lastly, Beans calls at the eleventh hour and says he can’t make it because he has a hamster cage stuck on his head -- which amazingly, is not a lie. In the end, Louis is the last one standing. Or as Tom says, “A man without a band.” 

At lunch, the sound of someone drumming starts to fill the air, leaving everyone confused for a minute. It’s Louis, of course. He’s up there drumming away and singing his background vocals alone and fully intends to perform the whole song that way. His determination to continue with the concert as the lone remaining member of the band is so admirable and badass honestly. It really shows how bold he can be and how he’ll always try to see his ideas through. Not only does this highlight Louis’ fearlessness, it also leads to an amazing moment for Ren as a character. As everyone runs to get a view of Louis, Ren starts remembering what Eileen told her. She slowly realizes that this could be her chance to seize the moment. 

One by one -- Twitty, Tawny, and Beans join Louis up on the roof! They pick up their instruments and jump right in, each one building and building on the song. All leading up to Ren being the last one to finally run up there as the final piece of the puzzle! It’s a cheesy and predictable climax, but it’s still amazing. Seeing Ren take a chance like that always makes me emotional, not gonna lie. You can FEEL the happiness radiating off of everyone here. It makes me beam every time. 

This gives me legitimate goosebumps. God. Watch this and tell me it isn’t freaking epic and CLASSIC. The final interviews paired with that tasteful background music always tugs at my heartstrings, too. 

The gang ends up facing the consequences of their stunt and are punished by Wexler putting them on trash pickup duty. ^ That ending (seen in the video) is probably my favorite Louis/Ren bit ever. Seeing them both secretly admit to the camera that they had a great time together just warms my heart. I love how they say the same exact thing at one point too: “Don’t tell her/him I said that” lol. It’s so simple but so effective and really sums up their relationship. Two siblings who are always at odds, but at the end of the day, they’re family and have that unconditional sib love whether they want to admit it or not. I love the little slideshow of photos from the rooftop gig to wrap everything up. 

...and the very last frame of the episode is this picture of THE GREATEST DISNEY CHANNEL SIBLINGS OF ALL TIME and it’s so precious. This photo is so genuine. You can tell it captured more of Shia and Christy than Louis and Ren. It's just so nice:

I would have this framed and hanging in my house somewhere if I were them. Wow! Also... What could possibly be a better final shot for the episode that’s concluding my specific project?! Tell me. I’ll wait. 

And that’s it.

This is one of those ~special fun plot~ episodes, but it’s not super wacky or zany. Like most of the schemes Louis pulls, they somehow manage to make it seem like a couple of middle schoolers could successfully put on a school rooftop performance like this irl. There’s super solid humor, great dialogue, some incredible character moments and plenty of heart to top it all off! It ends on such a satisfying and happy high note. And even though I prefer Comedian Louis over Musician Louis, this episode is just too damn fun for me to care. It sort of benefits from the “Influenza” effect. If you add a song to an episode, odds are it’ll automatically make it that much more memorable. The only difference between this episode and “Influenza” is that it has a lot more going for it story-wise. 

This episode has everything for me. The way it's filmed is unique to every other episode in the series. The humor is extra dry and a little different for the show here, but still feels very distinctly Even Stevens and stays true to what we love about the show. This episode includes practically every major character, too! Let’s round up everyone who makes an appearance here: Louis, Ren, Twitty, Tawny, Tom, Beans, Steve, Eileen, Donnie, Coach Tugnut, Principal Wexler, and even Artie Ryan! My only complaint is that Larry and Ruby should’ve made appearances. Like, just a little scene of Larry taunting Ren about not having the guts to go up on the roof or something would’ve been cool.

Just adding some extra photos from the episode to break up this sea of text.

This is the only episode other than the finale that actually manages to make me shed a tear. But the tear this episode squeezes outta me has more meaning behind it imo. In the finale, I’m pretty much solely crying over the resolution to the Louis/Tawny saga and the fact that it’s the last episode of the series. Here, I’m crying over the pure relationship between brother and sister (the root of the show) as well as the gang’s friendship. No other episode gets me in my feelings like that across the board. It honestly feels like a finale in its own right and I can’t think of a better one to wrap up this countdown with. 

Is this the best episode of Even Stevens? You tell me. Is it one of the most memorable, iconic, hilarious, unique, and feel-good episodes of Even Stevens? Absolutely. Is there even a way to determine what episode is "objectively" or scientifically proven to be the best? lol who knows! If there's anything this whole project has taught me, it's that perhaps this show is just so good, there simply is no "best" episode. In which case, this whole blog has been a complete waste of time. 

SIDE NOTE: It was brought to my attention that this episode shares similarities to a Saved By The Bell episode titled “Rockumentary.” While the overall outline is pretty dead on (the rise, fall, and rise again of a garage band) the actual episodes themselves are extremely different. Annnnd Even Stevens did it better. No surprises there. So, WHO CARES?!

Aside from this being my personal favorite episode of the series and meeting my ranking requirements, I have a few little bonus stats to back up my decision to deem "Band on the Roof" worthy of the top spot:

It's the highest rated episode of the entire series on TV.com, boasting a 9.6, which I wasn’t aware of until a few days ago and was honestly surprised.

Back in 2003, while the show was still popular/on-air, some fans held a march madness style poll for the Best Episode of All Time and "Band on the Roof" was the winner.

This episode has popped up on various nostalgia articles as one of the greatest in the series. One of my favorites is by a published author and screenwriter in the biz who also ranked it #1 on her Top 7 favorite episodes of Even Stevens list. [article] 

In the comments of this episode on YouTube, (which I probably should’ve saved before Disney recently deleted the video... ugh) the general viewer consensus was that it's a widely beloved episode and one of the greatest/solidly written/most memorable. Easily Top 3 or Top 5 in the opinion of others.

I've gotten quite a few comments across the socials for the blog from readers asking about where this episode will be ranked and/or simply randomly stating that ‘Band on the Roof’ is the greatest and iconic.

Basically, there is massive love for this episode. No matter what, there’s a good chance you'll consistently see this one mentioned as one of the best or at least in someone's personal favorites -- Myself included. Obviously, me being a musician and loving the mockumentary style/drier humor here has contributed tremendously to my favoritism -- but the general fan love and praise, mixed with the actual solid content of the episode, makes me feel like ranking it #1 is justified. As objective as I tried to be throughout this process -- I created Even Stevens Ranked to get some personal thoughts and opinions out of my system. Well, that, and to do my best to highlight how fantastic this show is. Please remember, at the end of the day, this is my list. So. :)

Now that I’ve finished the project, I’m honestly quite satisfied with the outcome here. Not only am I so unbelievably proud that I actually saw this thing through to the very end -- I feel like my Top 10, in particular, (or the Top 25 on a larger scale) is the most solid crop of episodes I could’ve ever come up with. I think they all include nice and important moments for all of the characters, some of the strongest humor, and capture the spirit of the show the best. They’re objectively pretty darn good ones to subject a newbie to if ya ask me! 

This project was extremely difficult. It was time-consuming and stressful, but it was also such a blast and only solidified Even Stevens as my favorite show of all time in my heart even more than it already was. When I started, I always knew that “Band on the Roof” would be #1, “In Ren We Trust” would be dead last, and “Influenza” would be #15, but other than that I made countless changes to the list as I went on. The closer I got to the end, I was worried that I’d look back and hate my list, but I’m so relieved to feel very confident in my final decisions and reasons for those decisions. If there’s anything I’d change, it’d probably be to rank “Stevens Manor” sliiiightly higher. But still, I don’t even wanna say that because I have no real problem with placing it at #17. It’s not a bad slot. As I’ve said many times, anything in the Top 25 is pretty much top notch to me.

So... What else is there to say? Here we are. 65 episodes down. 0 to go. The entire series ranked and reviewed. Mission accomplished. From the moment I posted my very first review, I always hoped I’d make it to this point but for whatever reason, I never thought I actually would. I talked about this a little bit when I hit my one-year milestone. Milestones like that are what kept me going, though. Even the littlest ones. I’ll seriously never forget when I completed 5 reviews and hit #59! It felt like the greatest accomplishment ever. And so on and so forth...

For years, I felt like I was some weird, lone fan of this show. I thought that maybe 5, 10 people tops, would care enough to read this blog. I am shocked at the decent following Even Stevens Ranked has garnered over the last two years across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and right here on Tumblr. My strange urge to rank and review every episode of this fantastic show has somehow turned into a ~community~ that is 1k+ strong if you combine all four social accounts. That is staggering. Meeting other fans of the show through this blog has been so, so awesome and I plan on keeping Even Stevens Ranked alive because of that. I can’t just leave it behind. I have some cool ideas moving forward, including a pending podcast. :D

I can’t thank you enough if you’ve actually bothered to read even just one of my reviews and found it the least bit interesting. We went on this weird little journey together. So thank you! Truly.

I’ve completed what I initially set out to do, but you can definitely expect a bonus video review for a change of The Even Stevens Movie sometime in the near future. I mean, how could I do a project like this and NOT discuss the big finale film?! 

Just a reminder that there’s a Twitty-Stevens Connection design up on Redbubble! Available in black text and white text. 

Thank you sooo much for reading. You know the drill! Please, journey into the Disqus comment section below if you’re so inclined. I’d love to hear any of YOUR thoughts now that this crazy project is complete. Ahh.

- Brittany

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[casaravingbull]

HYSTO? #154 - This Is Spinal Tap

Join us as we turn it up to eleven and discuss the classic 1984 rockumentary/mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap! With special guest Shawna West along for the rockin' ride!

Timestamps: :53 What's New?, 20:15 This Is Spinal Tap - Trailer, This Is Spinal Tap - Comments, 55:34 Contact Info, 56:16 Next Time

Check out this episode!

[taki118]

Shows I will forever be bitter and angry over their unfair cancellation

Sym-Biotic Titan

A monster of the week/giant robot/sci-fi drama/slice of life high school comedy series made by genndy tartakovsky, how could it possibly fail? Simple because a toy manufacturer couldn't be acquired for the show and Cartoon Network refused to find another way to merchandize the show (After only half a season) they decided to quietly end the season and write it off, by releasing the second half without telling anyone at a vastly different timeslot that would change weekly making it nearly impossible to watch properly. A tactic they will continue to use such as in

Thundercats 2011

A reboot that took the concept of the original show and sought to give it a more solid narrative and succeeded in it. However despite having a toy manufacturer and a toy line that was in production right up until cancelation Cartoon Network saw that despite good viewership and ratings for the first half of the season it drew in a 12+ age demographic where they wanted 12 and under, seeing no value in that demographic CN gave the second half of the season the same treatment SYm-Biotic Titan received forcing viewership to go down. To add insult to injury one of the toys being produced for the show (a lego like toy set) was reworked and rebranded as Legends of CHima.

Spectacular Spiderman

Considered to be the best adaptation of Spiderman ever produced created by Greg Weisman it was to get a third season unfortunately this show was a casualty of the Disney/Marvel buyout due to legal issues the show was not to be made with Warner Bros and instead replaced with Disney made Ultimate Spiderman later replaced by Marvels Spiderman.

Wolverine & the X-men

Another casualty of the Disney/Marvel buyout Wolverine & the X-men was a Nick production on one of their alternate channels, but was well made with a good fan following the second season had a few scripts underway that looked to be better than season one. But with the legal space of marvel properties being what it is was cancelled and we likely won’t see another X-men animated series for sometime.

Avengers Earths Mightiest Hero’s

To put it simply Avengers EMH is pure distilled Marvel Comics, if a fan is looking for a starting place this is it. It had great fan reception and viewership and was a Disney produced show so what lead to its cancelation after only 2 seasons? Simply put MCU’s Avengers movie was just too strong a hit. Disney wanted a cartoon that more closely mirror the hit movie (though I’m not sure if it was for brand recognition or because they thought kids were too stupid to follow two different stories) so it was canceled for the Avengers Assembled which fails in comparison.

Green Lantern the Animated Series

Produced by Bruce TImm this CGI series is a great introduction in the GL comics and mythos. How did it fail? It was created during the release of the Green Lantern movie in hopes that it would be a hit and an bring hype to the the cartoon and toy line however the movie was a flop and while the cartoon was what any comic fan could hope for the bad taste the movie left in peoples mouths was still fresh and many incorrectly (myself included) thought the series was based off the movie which was not the cause. By the time word of mouth spread that the series was good and people began to watch though it was too late.

Legion of Superheros

This show was like a writers playground as the Legion of Superhero’s is kinda obscure but filled with cool characters, abilities and scenarios. It had good viewership and ratings and was renewed for a third season unfortunately it got caught in a network change and was dropped as the new network did not want to pick up the show.

Constantine

A great take on the the Hellblazer comics with a lead who felt as though he walked right out of the pages Constantine had consistent viewership in a tough tv time slot. Despite fans and producers practically begging NBC to give the show 13 more episodes and a DVD release they ultimately refused cancelling it. It was offered to other networks but untlimately died. Matt Ryan still plays the character well on CWs comic shows but there is still a hole only his former show could fill.

Death Valley

Combine Reno 911 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you get Death Valley. A rockumentary series about a branch of the police who hunt down vampires, werewolves and zombies in their town. If that sounds awesome to you its cause it was. It only ran one season on MTV and there is no real word on why it was canceled, likely it just didn't fit the network and would have been better placed on Comedy Central, FX, or SyFy.

[talkmeinto]

The Clash

I wanna move the podcast to the Clash City Rockers, you need a little jump of electrical shockers! This week Jeff and Dan are talking Jimmy into the only band that matters… The Clash! To follow along with us check out this video: Rockumentary and our playlist: Talk Me Into… The Clash.

  Next week is another music episode! Friend of the pod Jess is going to be talking the fellas into Radiohead! Check out her playlists: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4PCpOitL7aJNpIMniNqfU2?si=1iOzvoIqSQCp_UuXP8GBaQ&dl_branch=1

  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsnNWtm_HZ8ixcbm2qvhv51W2b0MY-z8B

  Please remember to subscribe, rate and review or send us an email (talkmeinto@gmail.com) and we will read it on the next episode. For more Talk Me Into content become a patron! www.patreon.com/talkmeinto

For updates and generally joyful humor, follow the show (@talkmeinto) or the hosts (@sonnavafitch @danny_breakdown @JEFFFFF27) on Twitter. Artwork provided by Twitter user @wikirascals. Theme provided by Hostage Calm. Additional music provided by Disqualifier (https://disqualifier.bandcamp.com).

  00:00 - Intro

05:40 - Talking Ourselves Into

17:20 - Prelisten: The Clash

26:05 - Postlisten: The Clash

78:55 - Next Episode: Radiohead 

79:35 - Outro

Check out this episode!

[reminiscetheartist]

My latest Episode of my Rockumentary is out! 🤘🏽. Posted in the highlights section on my profile. Enjoy.... - - - -#instastory #documentary #film #independent #musician #artist #losangeles #guitarist #recording #session #rawmaterial #footage #director #instafilm #short (at Los Angeles, California)