Medialoper

The Weekly ‘Loper – April 16, 2006

April 16, 2006 by Jim Connelly

While you were recovering from taking part in the final battles in the War on Easter, and already planning your renewed assault on Christmas, here’s what we were looking at:

When Good Things Happen To Good Television – Kassia discovers Scrubs. The rest of us (especially the ones who discovered it last year) wonder what took so long.
Don’t Look Back: Start Over Might Be Gaining On You – Time-Warner’s “Start Over” might be a little bit too appropriately named: they want us to start over at the beginning of TV, when there was no way to fast-forward through commercials.
Apple Does Windows – Big Deal (maybe) – Apple’s latest method of getting people to switch involves putting XP on a Mac. So they prove how sucky XP is to people who already believe that it’s sucky? Hey Apple, you want more people to purchase your machines? Lower your prices!!!!!

A Quick Peek Inside The Amazon Digital Locker

April 16, 2006 by Jim Connelly

So right now I’m listening to the new Drive-by Truckers album, A Blessing and A Curse, which doesn’t come out until this Tuesday, April 18th. I’m also listening to a perfectly legal, paid-for version of the album. So how is that possible? It’s a bonus — a bit of a thank-you from Amazon to me for purchasing the physical CD. They just directed me to a feature of the online giant I hadn’t yet used: my Digital Locker.

The Daily Loper – April 15, 2006

April 15, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

The Breaking Point (reg may be req.)
Brilliant essay on Barry Bonds by Chuck Klosterman in this week’s ESPN the Mag. "Ruth was a troubling person, but he’s a wonderful idea; Bonds is a troubling person who’s an empty idea." He also calls McGwire and Sosa "jovial manimals."
Apple Gets a Big Slice Of Product-Placement Pie
It’s no mystery how Apple does it. What we wanna know is how Prism DuroSport get’s product placements.
Phone to Carry Video Projector
It’s a cell phone AND a big screen TV. Now we’re talking.

That’s What I Like: Veronica Mars

April 14, 2006 by Jim Connelly

To inaugurate our new weekly column — all about things that we really really like, OK love — I thought that I would choose something obvious, something that I’ve been raving about for well over a year: the best show on (broadcast) TV, Veronica Mars.

Best show? Yes. And, despite that, it’s probably going away. Even though it’s pretty much garnered nothing but critical raves from the moment it debuted, the ratings have been abysmal. For example, for the week of April 3-9, it was ranked 122nd, which means that only 2.85 million viewers watched Logan accidentally execute Weevil’s revenge against Thumper. Ka-boom!

And if you don’t know what the hell that meant, I’ve got some reasons why you really should.

The Daily Loper – April 14, 2006

April 14, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

Google Video Top 100
Hey, this was Jim’s idea. Nice to see Google is finally listening to the Loper. Unfortunately most of these really suck.
Sirius, EMI Reach Deal to End Dispute
Team ‘loper, for one, will sleep easier tonight.
Apple could double market share on Microsoft defections
There are already several defectors here at Medialoper.

How The Single Will Rule The World

April 14, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

I have this theory: either you’re a singles person or an album person. Sure, you can do both, but your heart tends to lie with one or the other. I’m a singles person. With one notable exception, I don’t listen to many albums straight through or front-to-back (depending on the era of my listening). I like compilations, a bit of randomness, and that frisson of joy that comes when two unrelated songs form a connection in my mind.

The Daily Loper – April 13, 2006

April 13, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

Beatles Coming Together Online
Ah, that’s why the recent litigation. Bright and shiny new masters just for the download generation.
Reality Shows and Comedies and the ‘Network’ Is AOL
Question from the peanut gallery: what if AOL draws more viewers than The CW? Do we win a prize for calling that one?
Rebranding Katie: CBS’s Secret Strategies Revealed!
A, uh, serious look at how the internal processes involved with transforming a morning show host to a network news anchor. Color palette, indeed.

Good Feelings About AOL

April 13, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

I am going to say something I never thought I’d say: AOL (formerly known as American Online) is starting to look very interesting to me. For a lot of reasons, I’ve never had a need to visit the AOL website, except to do something or other with Instant Messenger. I’ve always found their system to be a bit clunky, and it was easier to find what I wanted somewhere else.

But I’m fascinated by their commitment to creating original programming — series — for online viewers. They’ve recently inked a deal with Ashton Kutcher/Jason Goldman’s Katalyst Films to develop five comedy series of at least 20 episodes each. Now back in the day when Medialoper was a just a twinkle in our eye, one of the things that made us laugh (really hard) was an assertion from an unnamed network executive that the traditional studio structure was a requirement for producing ongoing, multi-episode series.

The Daily Loper – April 12, 2006

April 12, 2006 by Lopy

Todays links of interest:

Tim Goodman. The Bastard Machine
Here a link to the brand-new blog of one of the best TV critics out there: the San Francisco Chronicle’s Tim Goodman. He comes from the pretty much the same demo and sensibility as your friendly neighborhood ‘Lopers, and is funny as hell.
Now Showing: Declining Sales at Theater Snack Bars
Ticket sales are down and theater owners are trying to make it up on popcorn. This brilliant plan actually seems to be driving away customers.
V Cast music surpasses million songs
You have to read this one closely. V Cast now has a million songs in it’s library. It hasn’t sold a million songs.

Where Have All The Howard’s (Fans) Gone?

April 12, 2006 by Jim Connelly

A recent article in the LA Times asked the question: where have all of Howard Stern’s listeners gone? As Howard himself complained to Entertainment Weekly, not enough have followed him to Sirius, and as the early ratings have shown, many didn’t stick around to listen to Adam Carolla or David Lee Roth.

I can’t speak for the 9,999,999 listeners who didn’t go to Sirius, but as a Stern detractor who became a listener who became a fan over the past decade, I can tell you why I didn’t go to Sirius and why I’m probably not helping Adam Carolla’s ratings.