Tag Archives: Glee

We love: Avril Lavigne's 'What The Hell'

Posted on by

Avril Lavigne’s lastest nugget of angsty delight hit iTunes on Monday, and has already soared past Bruno Mars and Katy Perry to nab the No.2  spot behind Ms Spears’ ‘Hold It Against Me’. It’s the first single from her fourth studio album ‘Goodbye Lullaby’ (due March 8), and although we’re not quite hearing the promised evidence of a more mature Avril (it certainly doesn’t sound like the offering of a recent divorcée), it is undeniably, arrestingly catchy.

Despite her absence from the charts we’ve grown fonder of Avril over the last year or so. Mainly because we’re highly impressionable tweens at heart, and so when ‘Keep Holding On’ featured in Season One of Glee and then Cher Lloyd sang the crap out of ‘Girlfriend’ on X-Factor we were reminded of her in the most favourable light possible. And irritating though it can be when a woman in her mid twenties looks and sings like a 14-year-old (‘yeah’ & ‘woah’ are to Avril what ‘uh’ is to Britney), she does come up trumps when it comes to peppy, infectious girlypunk. You can try to resist, we say don’t bother.

Why we love What The Hell:

1. The lyrics. They’re just so darn sympathetic. Who among us hasn’t at times needed to “be a little crazy” and wanted nothing more than to “mess around”?

2. The barest, faintest, flicker of pain: “You can’t save me”, “You never call or listen to me anyway”. We’re imagining Avril in a Skins-type scenario, starved of affection from the one she truly loves, and therefore doing the natural thing, ie: put it recklessly about. “Yeah, I am messing with your head, When I’m messing with you in bed”- Effy anyone?

3. The tune. It’s VERY similar to Girlfriend. But we loved Girlfriend as well, so that’s fine.

4. The pure shamelessness of a 26 year old refusing to grow up . Obstinate, foolhardy party-pop, let it wash over you…

Fall in love:

Get Gleeful again. Top show returns. {Glee Preview}

Posted on by

GLEE
Mon 10 Jan, 9pm, E4

As another school year begins, the Glee kids discover that their elusive popularity still remains outside their grasp. Several things have occurred over the summer break: Finn and Rachel have been and still are dating, despite the fact he considers her “a controllist” with a huge ego; Tina has dumped Artie, and is dating fellow Asian Mike Chang; Puck got a vasectomy; Santana got a boob job; Heather spent her summer lost in the sewers; Slushees are still readily available; and the prevailing opinion among the student body is that Will’s song selections for New Directions sound like they come from “a drag queen’s iPod.”


The arrival of the boys’ new football coach, Shannon Bieste presents a problem. As funds from both Glee Club and the Cheerio’s are diverted to the revitalised team, Will and Sue form the unlikeliest of alliances as they attempt to bring down ‘The Beast’; no mean feat when she stands at 6’1, is an ex maximum security prison officer and can dead lift a Cadillac.

And the drama doesn’t end there; when Emma informs Will that she has begun dating her debonair dentist, he realises what he has thrown away and the arrival of Sunshine Corazon to the Glee Club means Rachel REALLY has to sing for her survival.

And so, as the Darwinian fight for survival begins; old rivalries are cast aside, new alliances are formed and hearts are broken all over again.

Stefans TV Picks; 6th June

Posted on by

Monday 7th ITV3 – 22:00
Psychological thrillers…so much scarier than horror, which is why The Shining is still the scariest movie ever made, and why I shall be watching the first instalment of The Sculptress. First shown in 1996 this made for TV movie stars Pauline Quirke in a break from her time in the long running Birds Of a Feather to play an altogether different kind of character. The Sculptress, based on the Minette Walters novel, is set three years after a gruesome murder of the mother and sister of, now lifer, Olive Martin who was found blood soaked at the scene of the crime. The story of the murder, the trial and the imprisonment of Olive is the subject of a new book by journalist Rosalind Leigh who, after finding out more about her subject and interviewing all involved, starts to believe in Olive’s innocence. A brilliant turn for Quirke and a series that’ll keep you guessing as you follow the investigation, anyone with a penchant for mystery should see this.

Tuesday 8th ITV1 – 22:35
American dramas can often come across as cheesy an fake, full of beautiful young adults looking ponderously out over lakes while an acoustic indie hit plays over the scene (Dawson…I’m looking at you), but every so often they send out something amazing like John Adams or Carnivàle (which EVERYONE should watch). This is what I’m hoping for in the new to air in the UK, October Road. For 10 years, writer Nick Garret has been away from his home town becoming a famous author and screenwriter. After returning home he must handle the reaction of the people he based his best selling book on, try to re-kindle old friendships and after living a pretty full life in his absence, see if he is really able to return to his old quiet lifestyle. With the second episode running straight after tonight’s pilot, lets hope it can hook us right away. The only problem I can see with this is that it clashes with the second half of The Sculptress (ITV3 – 22:00) so it’ll have to be Sky+ one and watch the other.

Wednesday 9th Channel 4 – 21:00
I have an addictive personality, if there’s something I like I will watch, listen to or play it for ages (currently it’s Assassins Creed II and the music of Broadway show Wicked) after today though, I’m pretty sure it’ll be all about Big Brother. I’ve not watched every series, but the ones I have, I’ve been glued too! So tonight I shall be joining Davina and the braying, cheering, condemning and booing crowds as we are introduced to the housemates of the last ever Big Brother. It looks like we’re in for a glorious summer, but between my Xbox, script writing and Big bloody Brother, I aint gonna see any of it.

Thursday 10th FIVE – 21:00
Robert Rodrigeuz is cool, his house is cool, his music is cool, his hat is cool and his movies are supercool. Once Upon a Time in Mexico is the third installment in his (possible homage to Sergios Leone’s Dollars trilogy) ‘Mariachi Trilogy’. Staring Antonio Banderas once again as the nameless mariachi, who is spoken of in Mexican folklore as merely ‘El’ and Johnny Depp as CIA Agent Sands. Based around a loose plot of a military coup against the Mexican President, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is more about the action and the brilliant gun fights that made El Mariachi and Desperado (the first and second in the trilogy) so much fun to watch.

Friday 11th Channel 4 – 19:30
Unreported World has had some horrific episodes showing atrocities from around the globe including slavery, sex trafficking and the plight of people in poor countries. Tonight’s episode travels to El Salvador to tell of the children used as hitmen for the multitude of gangs and who accept the high child mortality rate as part of life as much as they believe in the subjugation and sexual objectivity of teenage girls in the gangs. Never an easy program to watch, but always informative and humbling. Although I find it odd that Channel 4 chose to put this show in a lineup before Glee, Big Brother and 8 Out of 10 Cats, after Unreported World, I’m not sure I’ll be in the right mood for singing and dancing kids, an unpredictable human experiment and Jimmy Carr!

Saturday 12th ITV1 – 18:15
THREE LIONS ON A SHIRT, JULES RIMET STILL GLEEAAMING
I don’t usually like football, but when England play I cant help but get involved, our first game of the season against the USA will be shown live in the World Cup Live, so get some burgers on the bbq and join the nationwide party. This is the only time I get into football so I’m allowed to be excited by it.

Sunday 13th Sky Movies Sci Fi/Horror – 19:20
To coincide with Frost Magazine’s new Retro film reviews I thought a lovely piece of retro cinema would be a brilliant way to end the week, so I bring you The Lost Boys. This 1987 vampire classic revolves around the lives of two brothers, Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) as they move to a new town supposedly over-run by vampires. As Sam befriends the self titled Vampire Hunter Edgar (Corey Feldman) the story thickens and after Michael starts showing the sign of vampirism, and with help from Ed, Sam goes on a hunt to seek out the head of a vampiric punk gang, played by a big haired Keifer Sutherland, in an attempt to save his brother. Full of brilliant 80’s humour and an awesome soundtrack, The Lost Boys is a must for any fan of the Retro.

Glee: Hell-o {TV Preview}

Posted on by

Our lucky guest writer Blake Connolly got a sneaky peak from Channel 4 at the upcoming episode of Glee, if you want to know what’s instore; keep reading…


Glee returns to E4 tomorrow after a few weeks off to catch up with the broadcasts in the United States. The musical comedy-drama has been a phenomenon around the world since it first appeared on American screens last September. Songs from the series have rocketed to the top of the download charts, the DVDs are selling by the bucketload, and as Catherine has reported, Lucky Voice have recently started offering Glee nights at their karaoke bars.

Originally written as a feature film script by Ian Brennan, based on his own experiences in a high-school show choir, it was developed for television by Nip/Tuck writers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Murphy had previously created Popular, another series set in a high school, remembered fondly for it’s quirky, surreal humour and non sequiturs. Glee is similarly full of one-liners and a cynical streak which undercuts the upbeat power-pop ballads and uplifting messages. This is no High School Musical. For one thing, the music’s pretty good, with the series so far using tracks from artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Queen, Lily Allen, The Supremes and of course Journey. But the writing is also a lot sharper than many people who haven’t seen the show would credit, with some terrific one-liners, including this week’s “Did you know dolphins are just gay sharks?”

When we left off a few weeks back, New Directions had just won the sectionals, with the brilliantly nasty cheerleader coach Sue Sylvester being suspended after helping the competing glee clubs by leaking the set list, while their director Will Schuester kissed obsessive-compulsive school councellor Emma Pillsbury hours after her wedding was called off. However, we soon see that Sue Sylvester isn’t away for long (after all, it just wouldn’t be the same without her), as she uses some Rohypnol and a digital camera to not only allow her to return to the school but also put the glee club in jeopardy once again. Will is told by Principal Figgins that, having won the sectionals, they will now have to win the regional finals if they are to continue. Rachel has started dating Finn, who hasn’t yet gotten over the discovery that he is not the father of his ex-girlfriend Quinn’s baby. Sue, knowing that Rachel is both the glee club’s strongest singer and the weakest emotionally, sets her sights on her as she attempts to bring down New Directions.

The episode includes some of the funniest lines in the series yet, all of them coming from Sue and her two undercover “cheerios” Santana and Brittany. There’s also some very good music, with Will asking each member of the club to sing a song which includes the word “hello”, so yes, there’s some Lionel Richie, but a couple of the songs only feature the first syllable of the word, so there’s a certain AC/DC classic in there too.

Things continue to look good for the show, with a second season already ordered for the autumn. Open auditions are being held in the US to cast new characters, which will culminate in a reality TV-style special before the new cast members are revealed in the first episode of the new season. While we sadly can’t take part in that here in the UK, E4 are holding a competition, with a lucky winner being flown out to LA to have a walk-on part.

After tomorrow night’s “hello” special, the following episode will be full of Madonna songs. Not sure whether to watch? Four words: Sue Sylvester does Vogue.

Catch Glee: Hell-o on Monday 19th April, 9pm on E4.

Blake Connolly usually writes at Transmission. See more of his reviews.

Next Week's TV Choices

Posted on by

Seven days of mental cooks, singing and dancing high schoolers and thousands of runners awaits as I take a look at what is worth tuning in for next week.

Monday 19th – One of my favourite shows…of course this is mainly due to the competitions they have every week, The Gadget Show (ch5 20.00) will be keeping us all up to date in the world of tech and presenter Jon Bentley will be seeing what all the fuss is about with the new Apple iPad.

Tuesday 20th – you know that old Homerism ‘a hundred channels and theres nothing on’ never a truer word was spoken about Tuesday’s TV, unless your able to fill your day with music channels (Scuzz, my personal favourite) tune into Channel 4 at 21:00 for Heston’s Titanic Feast, a cookery show that doesn’t try to teach us anything or tell what we should be eating. This week, nutjob Blumenthal will be serving up Antarctic Roll, Camel Burger and a flambéed Iceberg.

Wednesday 21st – Three words…Planes, Trains and Automobiles, if you haven’t seen this I pity you, 20:00 on SkyMovies Comedy this film follows two men trying to get home for Thanksgiving an stars the greatly missed John Candy and Steve Martin when he was still funny.

Thursday 22nd – Now when writing this I planned on giving all you lovely readers one programme per day that you should see, Thursday threw up a conundrum, ‘You Have Been Watching’, channel 4 22:00, presented by the outstandingly cynical Charlie Brooker with a panel including Robert Webb, Jason Manford and Sharon Horgan review the highs and lows of the tellybox whereas over on channel Dave at 22.20 we find episode 6 of the excellent Psychoville….but I suppose theres always Dave ja vu!

Friday 23rd – 20:00…channel 4…GLEE….that’s all you need to know about Friday.

Saturday 24th – To all those who are fans of the Doctor (which I include myself one of) the answer as to whether Matt Smith is as good or better than David Tennant as Doctor Who is still unanswered, although at 18:20 on BBC1 we may find out as the Doctor once again meets the too-scary-for-a-kids-show Weeping Angels, and if your not as much of a geek as me then head over to SkyMovies Showcase at 20:00 for Jack Nicolson’s brilliant performance (and the sinister Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched) in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest.

Sunday 25th – Ahh The London Marathon, an epic event pushing people to the limits of fitness, reaching their goals and achieving their dreams, London will be awash with runners, cameras, spectators and discarded water bottles and thanks to BBC1 from 10:00 onwards we can have the best seats in the house, presented by the delightful Sue Barker it gives another chance to play Marathon bingo, man dressed as Nun (tick), three people running as a boat (tick) a Rhino(…)

By Stefan Gerrish.

Glee : Road to Sectionals DVD Launch at Lucky Voice

Posted on by

Two of the Frost Magazine team went along to the Glee DVD Launch. Catherine gives her brilliant rundown of the event:

When I found out I would be going along to the launch of the highly anticipated DVD of Glee: Road to Sectionals I could barely contain my, well, glee. This dissipated somewhat when I released they expected me to sing. Actually sing. Yes , I know it was being held at the amazing and uber cool Lucky Voice but I thought I would be able to just watch everybody else make fools of themselves. No such luck. After a few cocktails. This is what happened….

I arrive at Lucky Voice in Islington and am promptly given a rather wonderful cocktail called “Soho Love” I highly recommend it. It even comes with a love heart sweet. I am less happy, however, when told I have no choice but to sing for my booze. Ah well. They say nothing is free. I am then taken to one of the Lucky Voice rooms.

After the initial terror I do have an absolutely amazing time. Everybody let’s there hair down singing along to all the best songs from Glee. Vanilla vodka & coke slurpees are brought in and there is even a Glee clubhouse prop box so you can dress up with. My friend Blake looks amazing in the blonde wig while Genevieve is awesome on the tambourine.

All the hits from the show are played and you can very easily skip between them as well. Don’t stop believing is a particular hit. If you want a fun night out then I highly recommend Lucky Voice. It was founded by Martha Lane Fox. Even if you hate karaoke you will these nights. Find your nearest and have a gleeful night. Go ahead and jump.

The highly anticipated DVD of Glee: Road to Sectionals hits shops on 12 April 2010 and to celebrate Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has teamed up with premium karaoke bar Lucky Voice to produce the ultimate Glee karaoke night.

With costs from just £20 per person prepare for an unforgettable Glee experience:

London – Sun to Wed £20 per person; Thurs – Sat £24 per person

Brighton – Sun to Wed £18 per person; Thurs – Sat £22 per person

London
52 Poland Street
London W1F 7NQ
0207 439 3660

173-174 Upper Street
Islington
London N1 1RG
020 7354 6280

Brighton
8 Black Lion Street
Brighton BN1 1ND
01273 715 770


Nb: Here’s a ‘hilarious’ video courtesy of our new friends at Urbanvox.net of what we are now refering to as “the incident”:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOou7quhzRk