Explosions in the Sky is possibly my favorite band in the world right now. The first song of theirs that I ever heard was “Your Hand in Mine,” which I discovered on an archived podcast of a show on Barnard College Radio. Counting Monday, I’ve seen them play live three times so far. The first time was an unforgettable performance at the El Rey, just up the street from me here on the Miracle Mile. The second was a bit of a disappointment at the Epicentre down in San Diego, where the low ceiling and heavily sedated crowd robbed the experience of any sense of spectacle. I’d been looking forward to the Wiltern show for months.

And yet, when it arrived, I found myself having trouble paying attention to the four boys from Austin. Despite their characteristically dramatic performance, where they end up crouching and often practically collapsing on stage from emotional overload. Despite the new lighting design that makes their lush soundscapes even more overwhelming. Why? Well, you try standing within spitting distance (not that you’d ever spit in front of her) of this woman and see how well you can concentrate on anything other than the fact that the most physically beautiful person you will ever see in your entire lifetime is standing literally six feet away from you.

What about the show? Well, I’ll do my best. (more…)

Damn right I’m going to talk about NBC’s Friday Night Lights on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s the only show that deserves mention on a day when the Patriots are seeking perfection and the Giants are looking to become one of the greatest underdog stories in NFL history. Friday Night Lights is perfect — and it’s one of television’s biggest underdogs.

Inspired by H.G. Bissinger’s 1990 book and the 2004 film directed by Peter Berg,
Friday Night Lights uses football as a jumping point introduce us to the citizens of Dillon, Texas, one of those small American towns Steve Earle sang about in his song “Someday.” In Dillon, high school football isn’t just an extracurricular activity; it’s a way of life. The players on the Dillon Panthers football team are in their glory years, which is sad because most of these young men have yet to turn 18. Almost all of them will graduate high school, some will head to college, and one or two of the elite will be recruited to play college ball. The rest will either join the military or wind up living the rest of their lives in Dillon or some other blue-collar Texas town. They will sell cars, work construction, or just shuffle from job to job. The fame and attention they’re receiving may be the best they ever get. That sounds kind of depressing, doesn’t it? Not exactly the kind of “entertainment” you’re looking for on a Friday night, huh? I beg to differ. With delicacy and grace, Friday Night Lights strives to show the good and bad in humanity in all of us by giving us characters full of hope, trying to rise about the racism and economic hardships of their town. Whether you catch it live on NBC, TiVo it, or stream episodes online at NBC.com (where every episode from both seasons is streaming), I implore you…watch this show.

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