Shane Life

A few years ago, my dad was working for a company in New York called Palm Pictures. Palm was started by Island Records founder (and recent Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame Inductee) Chris Blackwell, a music maven with a sense for a lot of incredible music. (Need examples? The Cranberries, Melissa Etheridge, Bob Marley, and a little band called U2).

When he was there, I learned a lot about the music business, something that has always interested me. I really wanted to be an A&R (Artist and Repertoire) Rep…the guy who goes out and finds and signs new talent. I feel like I’ve always been an early adopter of new music and I think that if I were in the business, I’d be really good at figuring out who might make it and who might break. I just never really wanted to live in New York.

Lately, we’ve been watching CBS’s great new show, How I Met Your Mother (long live NPH!), and during those shows (since it is the only one I watch on CBS), I was exposed to a long line of advertisements for a new show starring Tom Cavanaugh (formerly Ed) about…you guessed it…an A&R rep. The show is called Love Monkey. The first 10 times I saw the advertisements, I wasn’t sure about the show. It had an interesting cast of characters, but I wasn’t sure that I could fit another show into my schedule.

Now, I have before extolled the virtues of DVR. This is why I love it. I went ahead and recorded the show and figured I would watch it if I had some time (a rarity, I know, but it was worth a shot). Well, since Alli has been doing a lot of drill team stuff lately, I had some time on my hands in the evening. I have now watched all 3 of the episodes that have been shown so far and I’m totally hooked. In fact, you’ll now see it under the “Watching” category on the right.

I never really watched Ed, but I always liked Tom Cavanaugh when he guest-starred on Scrubs as JD’s screw-up brother. He is great as the main character (also named Tom) in Love Monkey. He’s supported by Jason Priestley (aka Brandon Walsh, 90210 alum), who is married to Tom’s sister. Also starring is Larenz Tate, who was terrific in this year’s Best Picture, Crash. Playing Tom’s GBF (Girl Best Friend) is Judy Greer, the girl who is always in those kooky supporting roles like J-Lo’s assistant Penny in The Wedding Planner, Orlando Bloom’s sister in Elizabethtown, and Jennifer Garner’s high school nemesis in 13 Going On 30. She’s pretty funny. There are more characters, but I suggest you watch the show to get to know them.

Oh yeah…and the music is awesome.

UPDATE (before I can even get the post up)

Well…it’s too bad, since the show has already been CANCELLED. What the heck? Why is it that the shows that I like always get cancelled for more reality crap? Inside Schwartz is another perfect example of a good show with a good cast that got crapped on.

Now I’m mad. Stupid television networks and their “ratings”. I guess 3 shows is enough time to get a strong following (note sarcasm here). I guess my whole “you should watch this show” came a little too late.