The Frames: "Pavement Tune" in Quarterlife Commercial

The new tv commercial for the upcoming NBC series Quarterlife (from the creators of My So-Called Life) features the song "Pavement Tune" by The Frames. If the name of the Irish band doesn't ring a bell, they are led by Once star Glen Hansard. The song is from their 1999 album Dance The Devil.

The Frames Official Site

Buy the CD

Elsewhere: My So-Called Life Music

Speed Of Dark has been posting songs from my beloved tv show My So-Called Life. You can see her music posts here, here, and here.

And if you missed it the first time around, my initial rave review of the MSCL DVD set is here. I've since then made my way through half of the discs. Though the creator and cast commentaries are sadly lacking behind the scenes revelations, the show itself is as magnificent as ever.


"It just seems like, you agree to have a certain personality or something. For no reason. Just to make things easier for everyone. But when you think about it, I mean, how do you know it's even you?" - My So-Called Life

My So-Called Life DVD Set

Yesterday, I received the most awesome DVD set ever - the entire series of My So-Called Life. This may sound cheesy but it's true - this new MSCL DVD set by Shout!Factory is literally so beautiful it hurts to look at it. It was definitely worth the 13-year wait.



The packaging is so lovely and perfect - put together like a gorgeous scrapbook with images of the cast, episode stills, quotes from the show, and letters from writer Winnie Holzman (who goes into more detail about her plans for season 2), Joss Whedon, Janaene Garofalo, and others. The episode summaries include what songs were played in each show, guest stars, and the occasional extra note (Catalano was not the original last name for Jordan).

The DVD discs are in bright colours with smalls sketches that fit particular episodes - a girl with her hair hanging over a sink for "Pilot", an angel for "So-Called Angels" (an episode featuring Juliana Hatfield), etc. So far I've only watched a few of the features on the bonus disc - "Conversation With Claire Danes and Winnie Holzman", "My So-Called Life Story", "The Music" (an interview with composer Snuffy Walden), and the character bio of Angela (which features brief interviews with Claire, Wilson, and Devon Odessa). There are several other featurettes and interviews on the bonus disc, as well as commentaries on individual episodes by the show's creators and cast - including Devon Gummersall on "Life of Brian", Claire Danes on "Self Esteem", and Wilson Cruz on "So-Called Angels".

Though I haven't watched any of the episodes yet, just seeing clips from the show in the bonus features was very powerful. And not just because it's the first time I've seen them without the snowy distortion on my VHS tapes from the original 1994 airing on ABC. There's something about seeing Claire Danes (who is my age) talking about that time in her life, then seeing those clips of her as Angela and remembering being that age myself that was surprisingly emotional.

There are more details and reviews on the set at MSCL.com.

Buy the MSCL DVD Set

Rickie from MSCL loves FNL

In his Entertainment Weekly interview, Wilson Cruz - who played Rickie on My So-Called Life says:

"I see definite hints of it in Friday Night Lights, which I love...In the writing. In nuance. In the performances. First season, they were so subtle. And [My So-Called Life alum] Jason Katims is writing on that show. It just feels like the Texas cousin to My So-Called Life. The way it's shot. Just the angst of it all."

You can read my post on Friday Night Lights here. FNL's first season is already available on DVD, and I'm very excited about the upcoming DVD set of MSCL. Buy 'em both at the links below.

Buy Friday Night Lights Season 1 DVD
Pre-order My So-Called Life DVD set