Little Boxes on the Hillside, Little Boxes Made of Ticky Tacky

Showtime's hit TV show Weeds features the opening theme song, "Little Boxes," a cutesy folksy song originally written and recorded by Malvina Reynolds in 1962. Reynolds wrote the song during a trip with her family through Daly City, California as a social commentary on the shoddily built, conformist track housing she saw from the road. The lyrics refer to the homes being built of "ticky tacky," a reference to cheap construction. The song was then recorded by Pete Seeger who ultimately made the song famous.

Season 1 in 2005, the Weeds show featured songwriter Reynolds' original version. However, seasons 2 and 3, featured unique renditions by famous recording artists. A few of the performers have included Elvis Costello, Regina Specktor, Billy Bob Thornton, The Shins, Randy Newman, Linkin Park, and The Decemberists. The covers were unfortunately abandoned during seasons 4 through 7. Now in its final season 8, the show is reintroducing guest artists to remake the theme.

Episode 1 "Messy," which aired on Sunday July 1, debuted a new opener with a whiteboard cartoon created by Idea Rocket Animation, depicting a timeline of the shows plot over the last seven seasons. [ Link to the new animation. ] Company creative director William Gadea explains the process artist Robert Kopecky employed to create the cartoon opener in an interview with Studio Daily.

This Sunday, July 8, Episode 2, "A Beam of Sunshine," will feature recording artist and Sing-Off judge, Ben Folds. You can find the show on Showtime at 10 and 11 PM EDT on Sunday, July 8. The show repeats throughout the week at various times. [ Ben Folds' cover of Little Boxes Weeds intro ]

Folds is currently working on the production of his first CD made with Ben Folds Five in over 12 years via an online pledge campaign. His last CD of newly unreleased material, Lonely Avenue, which he cowrote with book author Nick Hornby, featured a similar animation of the song "From Above" by Simpsons director and animator Julius Preite and designer Justin Owens.

Covers by various artists

Here are some of the versions of the series theme song performed on the show. I starred some of my favorites. Just for fun, try playing these for a friend and don't tell them who is performing them, then see if they can guess who it is.

Thanks to youtuber joeblowaz for taking the time to post the intros from Seasons 2 and 3. A special note: Watch out for the odd little pop-up video ads in the upper right hand corner on some postings. They contain an audio track which can ruin your listening experience.

Original song

Here is the original song as performed by Malvina Reynolds, "Little Boxes."

Season 2 of Weeds Opening Theme: Little Boxes

Season 2 Episode 1 - Elvis Costello
Season 2 Episode 2 - Death Cab for Cutie
Season 2 Episode 3 - Engelbert Humperdinck **
Season 2 Episode 4 - McGarrigle Sisters (French version)
Season 2 Episode 5 - Maestro Charles Barnett (symphonic version)
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aiden Hawken
Season 2 Episode 7 - Ozomatli
Season 2 Episode 8 - The Submarines
Season 2 Episode 9 - Tim DeLaughter
Season 2 Episode 10 - Regina Spektor **
Season 2 Episode 11 - Jenny Lewis with Johnathan Rice **

Season 3 of Weeds Opening Theme: Little Boxes

Season 3 Episode 01 - Randy Newman
Season 3 Episode 02 - Angelique Kidjo (Afropop Carribean) **
Season 3 Episode 03 - Kinky (disco Spanish)
Season 3 Episode 04 - Donovan
Season 3 Episode 05 - Billy Bob Thornton **
Season 3 Episode 06 - The Shins
Season 3 Episode 07 - The Individuals
Season 3 Episode 08 - Man Man **
Season 3 Episode 09 - Joan Baez
Season 3 Episode 10 - The Decemberists
Season 3 Episode 11 - Michael Franti
Season 3 Episode 12 - Persephone's Bees (Russian and English) **
Season 3 Episode 13 - Laurie Berkner Band
Season 3 Episode 14 - Linkin Park
Season 3 Episode 15 - Pete Seeger

Season 8 of Weeds Opening Theme: Little Boxes
To be updated throughout the year

Season 8 Episode 01 - Malvina Reynolds with new cartoon intro by Idea Rocket Animation **
Season 8 Episode 02 - Ben Folds **
Season 8 Episode 03 - Cast member Kevin Nealon (Doug) with Steve Martin yelling and screaming while playing banjo
Season 8 Episode 04 - Mariachi El Bronx **
Season 8 Episode 05 - The Mountain Goats
Season 8 Episode 06 - Bomb the Music Industry!
Season 8 Episode 07 - The Womenfolk **
Season 8 Episode 08 - The Thermals
Season 8 Episode 09 - Dierks Bentley **
Season 8 Episode 10 - Cast member Hunter Parrish (Silas)
Season 8 Episode 11 - Aimee Mann **
Season 8 Episode 12 - Cut Chemist
Season 8 Episode 13 - Malvina Reynolds (Series finale)

Never used theme covers:

After Season 3 ended, the show temporarily ceased using other performers to cover the theme song. However, these versions were already recorded and can be found on youtube. In fact, you can find numerous independent recordings of the theme by fans and lesser known artists, perhaps hopeful that their versions would be chosen.

Rise Against
The Crackheads
Mayer Hawthorne / Haircut

Props used on Weeds:

As long as we're on the subject of "Weed," here is another youtube video I ran across while scrounging around for the opening theme song posts. This video from Season 4 features the creation of the magnificent fake marijuana props for the show, using ingredients such as Mexican spices, parsley, and kosher salt attached to dowels with hot glue.
Video: The Weed Wranglers.



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The Power of Bieber

On Friday morning, June 15, 2012, Justin Bieber performed on the Rockefeller Plaza outside the NBC Today show studios. Before the concert, he sat down with Matt Lauer to discuss his tour.

Longtime Today show host Matt Lauer confessed that Bieber had convinced him to sign up for twitter, something he said he swore he'd never do. During the interview, Lauer asked the 18-year-old pop star to prove his influence by helping him gain followers, "I want to find out the power of Bieber. I'm gonna do a little test here... I want you to tell your 23 million followers to follow me."

After first promoting the release of his new album Believe on June 19th. Bieber finally complied, tweeting from @justinbieber at 8:18 that morning:

"Everyone follow my man @mlauer" 

Matt Lauer had quietly signed up for twitter the day before, but said he had "zero followers." Lauer said that NBC's director of digital news operations, Ryan Osborne would streak in the studio if he can gain over 750,000 followers by Tuesday, June 19.

I found Lauer's account before the Bieber blitz and clicked to follow his tweets, taking this screen shot showing 85 followers. Joining right before me were: Amanda Wright @adwritght10, Susan @savedbygraceto, Carrie Mitchell @MonsterPuma, and Lauren Boudreau @LBoudreauu.

"We're going to see the power of Justin Bieber by Tuesday," said Lauer.

Within three minutes, while Bieber typed away, Lauer announced: "We have 9,000 already, okay? And this has been going on for three minutes... Ryan, start taking your clothes off."

Within five minutes, Matt Lauer had 30,753 followers and was trending.

Only one day later, on Saturday, June 16, @mLauer had over 131,000 followers. Today, he has nearly 140,000. Although he won't reach the 750,000 mark he had hoped for, it's still quite impressive.

Will Matt Lauer remember me, having been one of the first 100 to follow him on twitter? Nah, probably not. It's fun trivia, though, just another story for tvgrrrrl's files.

Bieber will be back on NBC on Wednesday and Thursday nights, June 20th and 21st, for his All Around the World tour TV special airing at 8 p.m. each night. (NBC can be found on channels 4 and 1020 in Orlando on Brighthouse Cable.)

Who shot J.R.? Dream Season, Priscilla Presley, and more Dallas folklore

Season 3 of Dallas included cast: Gary Ewing (Ted Shackleford), Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal), patriarch Jock Ewing (Jim Davis), J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray), matriarch Miss Ellie Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes), and first grandchild, Lucy Ewing (Charlene Tilton).

Do you know who shot JR? Did you remember that Season 8 of Dallas was mostly just a bad dream? Did you wonder if Priscilla Presley could actually act when you found out she had been cast? And did you remember that Lucy had an affair with Ray Krebbs, who was later discovered to be her half uncle?

These are just a few of the scandals revealed on the hit television series Dallas, which ran from 1978 to 1991. I was too young to understand it when it first aired, but caught it in reruns. Unlike daytime soap operas, the plot on Dallas moved quite fast, airing once a week, keeping viewers spellbound by shocking them with the cruel and conniving behavior of the Ewings, a mega rich Texas oil family.

The show is re-airing tonight on TNT in a newly produced series, picking up where it left off, and reviving the old fabulous characters of J.R., original heir to the South Fork family ranch and the Ewing oil well fortune, his ex-wife Sue Ellen, and his brother Bobby.

The same hallmark Dallas soundtrack is also being used, much to my delight.  Hear the Dallas theme soundtrack here. It's catchy!

New characters in the form of offspring who have grown up, new wives and husbands, and others have been added to inject new life into the series. I hope they walk with a swagger, emitting the same air of nasty confidence which only extreme wealth can foster. I hope that the bad guys are just as ruthless, selfish, and lawbreaking so that I can cheer when their innocent victims, the good guys, muster the strength to fight back and win in the end.

The show will air from 9 p.m. to 11:13 p.m tonight with two back-to-back episodes on TNT, channel 11 or 1237 HD on Brighthouse cable here in Orlando. The show will re-air tonight at 11:14 p.m., Friday night at 10:30 p.m., and Saturday morning at 11 a.m.

If you didn't watch Dallas the first time around, here is the plot in a nutshell: 

Jock Ewing (Jim Davis) marries Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes), who chooses him over her other beau, Digger Barnes (David Wayne and later Keenan Wynn). Jock Ewing and Digger Barnes become business partners, then have a disagreement over oil rights where Jock ultimately cheats Digger out of the oil, setting the field for a huge Ewing-Barnes rivalry.

The Ewings have three children: J.R. (Larry Hagman), Gary (David Ackroyd and later Ted Shackelford), and Bobby (Patrick Duffy). As the eldest son, J.R. runs the farm and oil company like a ruthless bastard, steam-rolling over anyone who gets in his way. Youngest son Bobby is more interested in loving life, doing good, and caring for others.

Digger Barnes marries Rebecca Blake and has two children: Pam (Victoria Principal) and Cliff (Ken Kercheval).

In the first episode, Pamela Barnes and Bobby Ewing, children of the two rival families, elope in Romeo and Juliet fashion. Bobby brings Pam home to the Southfork ranch where he resides with his father Jock, mother Miss Ellie, siblings Gary and J.R. and his wife Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), and niece Lucy (Charlene Tilton), who is the daughter of his brother Gary. Lucy is so boy crazy that she sleeps with farmhand, Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly).

The show stews in scandal. There are murders, shootings, affairs, lawsuits, and conniving criminal business deals. It's over-the-top fantasy, filled with the glitz and glam of designer fashions and fancy sports cars owned by people residing in sprawling mega mansions and downtown Dallas condos. I owe the success of the show to the fact that in the real world, the economy in 1978 had tanked, and everyone needed an escape, a mythical place to live in their minds as far detached from reality as possible, while still representing the very real American dream of becoming absurdly rich and successful.

Priscilla Presley was added during Season 7 as Bobby's first love, Jenna Wade.

And, to answer those questions:
Do you know who shot JR at the end of Season 3? 
We find out at the beginning of Season 4 that Kristin (Mary Crosby), J.R.'s mistress who is also Sue Ellen's sister pulled the trigger.

What about Season 8, otherwise known as the "Dream Season?"
Bobby and Pamela, divorced for two years, decide to remarry, only to have their dreams tragically end after he is killed in a car accident saving Pam's life. At the beginning of Season 9, we find that Bobby's death was all just a bad bad dream which Pam had been having, earning that year the nickname, the "Dream Season."

Could Priscilla Presley act?
Yes, Elvis Presley's widow Priscilla could act, and quite well in fact. She played Jenna Wade, the mother of Bobby's son Lucas Wade, and was introduced in episode 138, then appeared on the show from 1983 until 1988. After her time on Dallas, she continued acting in various roles on TV shows and movies until the year 2000.

Lucy slept with her uncle?
At the beginning of the series, Lucy and ranch hand Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly) have a steamy sordid affair. It was later revealed that Krebbs was actually her father's half-brother, Jock's illegitimate son, making him her half-uncle.

Bonnaroo TV blasting broadcasts via youtube

Donald Glover, who plays Troy on Community, performs at Bonnaroo as his rap act, Childish Gambino, on the "little screen" of youtube, which is livecasting the festival.

Were you unable to make it to Manchester, TN to the Bonnaroo music and arts festival this year? No worries. It's being "live" cast online via youtube. Unlike other live feeds I've seen, this one is a huge improvement. I began watching Friday evening just to see how it was working out, and the picture, though high definition, stuttered annoyingly despite my high speed internet connection. The problems appear to have been fixed. Rebroadcasts, which have been airing each morning and during downtimes, are TV perfect.

In order to stagger performances and give the viewers at home a steady feed of entertainment, some shows seem to be captured in near real time with a safely padded, room-for-editing, 30 minute delay, while others are shown hours or days later, such as the heavily bearded acoustic Trampled by Turtles, who played Friday and Saturday, but are being broadcast live today at 4:00 p.m. EDT.

Bonnaroo's trailer aptly advertised: "Sounds. Stages. Sights. Get down on the farm, without being on the farm."

Airings are pretty spectacular – definitely one of the best live music broadcasts I've ever seen, and youtube-upload-worthy for future watches. The sound is perfect. The camera angles are great. The picture is crystal clear. All that's missing are the smells, and I can do without that.

Broadcasting Bonnaroo acts live on youtube will most likely have the same effect on the festival that MTV’s Spring Break had on Daytona Beach in the late ’80s.

There is a legend here in Florida of epic Woodstock proportion of the day the film crews came to town beginning in March of 1986, with big stars in tow, drawing in mega crowds of sweaty coeds from all over the country. For four years, we kids would do anything to get our parents to let us go to the free beach concerts. I got to see the Beastie Boys live, something I'll never forget.

At Bonnaroo, performers are able to strut their stuff live, proving they are not just smoke and mirrors while crowds of festival goers vie for camera time from the front row waving hi to Mom back home. I get to sit in the comfort of my air-conditioned apartment and watch online on hi-def, blowing up the picture mega huge, with my Bose speakers blasting the beautifully crystal clear music. It's like I'm there, but without all the dusty dirt, long lines for the honey pots, greasy hair and stench. Win! Win!

Two channels broadcast each day, on the appropriately named Channel 1 and Channel 2.  I'm sure next year, they'll come up with much more creative names for these, but hopefully not as confusing as "This Tent," "That Tent," and "The Other Tent," just a few examples of real Bonnaroo stage names. Both channel feeds are found here:

Bonnaroo Music Fest on Youtube

Unlike television which is subject to panels of censors, youtube appears to be self-regulated, meaning that swear words can fly freely.

I caught Community TV star, Donald Glover, performing as Childish Gambino in an uncensored rebroadcast this morning. I have to give props to the guy -- he can energize a crowd, displaying sing-a-long lyrics on a big screen, exciting the crowd into clapping in time, then moving them with sad and heart broken lyrics.

Later today on Channel 2 at 6 p.m. EDT is Sing-Off TV show judge Ben Folds, reunited with his fabulous lineup from the late '90s: Ben Folds Five.  Dr. Folds promises to stand on his piano, whip out his wide lens and photograph people flipping him off.  Sounds like he’s a gluten for punishment.

Should be fun. Catch it if you can. Check out the uploaded videos on the Bonnaroo youtube channel as well.

Save The Sing-Off petition reaches landmark halfway point

Yesterday marked a landmark victory for the fan-based movement to #SaveTheSingOff. The grassroots campaign reached 25,167 signatures by midnight, eastern time, Monday, June 4, just over halfway of its goal of 50,000 signatures. The fan-based group formed on Monday, May 14, just three short weeks ago. The online petition was created by Dan St. John of Lawrence, Kansas, to gather enough signatures to gain the attention of network executives at NBC. The halfway point now being reached, the movement is gaining even more momentum.

The Sing-Off television show, which aired on NBC for three seasons from 2009 to 2011 and features several a cappella groups vying for a Sony recording contract, was not renewed for a full season this coming fall.  Fans are hoping to bring The Sing-Off back in Season 4 as a five or six day post-season run in December, the slot in which it originally ran during both Season 1 in 2009 and Season 2 in 2010.

After higher than expected ratings in 2010, NBC gambled and ran the show for a full season on Monday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. in Season 3 in 2011. However, the show was head-to-head against staunchly established competition: How I Met Your Mother and Two and A Half Men on CBS, and Dancing with the Stars on ABC, so that the 2011 ratings were less than stellar.

By showing that viewers care, the petition should light a fire under NBC execs to possibly bring the show back in December 2012.

The Sing-Off is hosted by the dashing Nick Lachey, and judged by the ever intelligent panel of Dr. Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman, and Sara Bareilles.

I want to issue a huge congratulations to the wonderful grass roots campaign to #SaveTheSingOff. I especially want to acknowledge Dan St. John for his ceaseless promotion on both twitter and facebook.

Well done, Dan! Well done!

Fan petition to Save The Sing-Off reaches 20,000 signatures

This morning at 7:40 a.m., I was given the rare treat of being able to watch the number of signatures on the petition to Save The Sing-Off television show flip from 19,999 to 20,004.  The number had crept to just under 16,000 signatures on Friday, then surged over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The show, which has aired each fall for three consecutive seasons from 2009 to 2011 and features several a cappella groups competing for a Sony recording contract, is currently on the cutting room floor of the NBC scheduling room. The show is hosted by Nick Lachey and judged by performers Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman, and Sara Bareilles. Because The Sing-Off enjoyed high ratings during the post-season five-day run in December 2010, the show was extended to run the full season in the fall of 2011. Unfortunately, it did not fair as well and struggled for viewership against hit shows such as How I Met Your Mother, Dancing with the Stars, House, and Ashton Kutcher's debut on Two and a Half Men.

The show will sadly not run the full season this fall on NBC. Whether or not NBC will pick it up for a short December run in 2012 is still a big question mark. Industry insider @mcbc noted on twitter:

"...that holiday thing is looking increasing unlikely. 10/90, 5/95 at best. And it would only be a reunion."

Undaunted, Sing-Off fans are not giving up! Here are just a few of the efforts currently in place:

Petition
The petition, started by Dan St. John of Lawrence, Kansas, now boasts over 20,100 signatures:
Sign the petition.

Twitter trend campaign
Fans are continuing to post #SaveTheSingOff on twitter.

Videos by Sing-Off competitors:

X-Factors from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois:
Cover of Eric Hutchinson's "You Don't Have to Believe Me" with an introduction and plea.

Members of Fannin Eleven from Wisconsin:
Cover of "Break Even" by the Script with a testimonial of the joy they experienced while on the show.

Pentatonix, Season 3 winner, from Arlington Texas;
Cover of Beyonce's "End of Time" with a request to sign the petition at the end.

@TVGrrrrl is finally on twitter #SaveTheSingOff #ImADamVP

After years of swearing I'd never have my own twitter account, I finally broke down and signed up last week under none other than, "@tvgrrrrl" (that's 4 R's in case you accidentally find the one with 3 R's – not me.)

Anyone living in Orlando knows that the number one way we all communicate around this part of the country is via person to person texting on our beautifully personalized androids and iphones. To reach the masses, Facebook is followed in Florida. Myspace here seems dominated by people looking to cheat and diehards who signed up a dozen years ago and refuse to admit that no one reads their page anymore. Twitter? I don't really know anyone who's on twitter who isn't also throwing the same posts into their Facebook account. So, it seemed silly to bother.

#SaveTheSingOff

Then, a grassroots campaign was launched by fans to SaveTheSingOff – that's The Sing-Off television show which aired on NBC from 2009 to 2011, hosted by Nick Lachey, and judged by Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman and Sara Bareilles. It is sadly absent from NBC's 2012 fall schedule and fans are rallying to save it, starting a petition (sign here), websites, and a twitter hashtag trending campaign for #SaveTheSingOff.

I feel a personal investment in the show, having watched from day one. My eyes glued to the set each episode, I shunned friends' invites to go clubbing and instead, made them watch with me, moving work schedules when needed, and even skipping class and faking the flu one December (shhh – don't tell). I was so thankful when Brighthouse Cable made shows available for on-demand-viewing, that I watched the show almost exclusively on channel 304 last season.  

I blogged about The Sing-Off from the beginning. Over a thousand people read my articles, and I think of each and every one of those readers as a gift. It makes all the time spent researching and fact gathering worthwhile. 

The whole reason I started this twitter account was to tweet the hashtag: #SaveTheSingOff. 

However, now that I'm here, follow me if that's your thing. Send me your thoughts on what you're watching on the boob tube. I love the weird and wacky off channels, love writing about what no one else is writing about, all those lower viewership shows on cable which are passed over by the mainstream media. 

#ImADamVP

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention that Sing-Off judge Ben Folds (That's Dr. Folds to you and me) is launching his own CD with Ben Folds Five, sans a record label, using only a pledgemusic account where fans can prepurchase everything from CDs for $15, t-shirts for $27, vinyl for $25, and other goodies. That's akin to airing your own television show on youtube, without a network. Will it work? It seems to be picking up steam. 

Today, at 3 p.m. EST, BFF will be hawking more wares: actual handwritten lyrics "sealed with a kiss" from each of the gorgeous members of the band: Robert, Darren, and Ben. Oh, swoon! There are only 30 copies being sold for $400 apiece. For $2,500, twenty people can also have their own name added to the song, "Do It Anyway." I'm guessing without The Sing-Off paycheck, Ben Folds might need to raise a few extra bucks to cover the costs of putting out this project on his own. Judging from the success to date with 224% of the project funded and nearly 5,000 pledgers, I don't think this is an issue. His daring experiment appears to have paid off.

Go to this website and see how you do: Pledge Music. Should go fast.

If you're on twitter, send the link around about Dr. Fold's new project and add the hashtag: #ImaDamVp

#OnceUponAnotherTime

I must also mention that the angelic Sara Bareilles has just released a wonderful new EP, "Once Upon Another Time." The EP was produced and recorded at Ben Folds' Nashville studio. I've only heard snippets here and there, but it sounds simply lovely. Who else can solo a cappella and sound that phenomenal? The 5-song EP is available here on Amazon.com as an mp3 download for only $5 (okay $4.99, whatever). The EP has received the notoriously esteemed label of "Explicit Lyrics," due to her "Sweet As Whole" song (get it?). Bless her little heart. 

The song, Beautiful Girl is only found on the B-side of her vinyl record single, Stay. I was only able to find it from collectors for $30 apiece, so good luck on that one.

The songs are so wonderful, I'll bet we'll all most likely be hearing them on future television soundtracks.