First of all, if you didn't already know, the latest Xena: Warrior Princess soundtrack CD was released a couple weeks ago. It contains all the musical numbers from the episode Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire (X100), as well as several bonus tracks from other episodes.
I picked up the album last week, and I really like it. It is a little shorter than the other discs released, clocking in at slightly less than fifty minutes (compared to the almost seventy minutes on the other CDs). However, the opportunity to hear Lucy singing is worth the difference.
The bonus tracks are especially good. One number that was recorded for the episode but never used was Xena and Gabrielle singing, "We Can Work it Out", originally recorded by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. While it isn't Renee singing, the performer they hired to voice Gabrielle (Susan Calloway) sounds more like the bard than Susan Wood, who sang Gabrielle's part in The Bitter Suite (X58).
The other great bonus track is "Tara's Dance" from A Tale of Two Muses (X77), the musical number also referred to as "Let the Spirit Move Me." Other tracks on the album include music from Life Blood (X106) and Paradise Found (X108). All in all, it is a good album. You should be able to find it (or order it) at your local record store.
Now let's get down to business. I was watching the Today Show a couple of days ago before heading off to work. This past week they've been pushing an event where a couple selected by the home audience (through votes cast at the NBC website) will get married live on the air.
A thought struck me that this was similar to the Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? debacle on the Fox network a couple of months ago. I also thought about the recent hit show Survivor and the upcoming Big Brother. It struck me that there was a glut of voyeuristic television coming out.
This isn't a recent development either. So-called "Entertainment News" programs like Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight, not to mention even less pleasant shows like Inside Edition have proliferated in this culture that wants to know everything about anybody -- especially if they're famous.
This actually connects to Xena, and a pet peeve of mine in regards to this trend in "entertainment."
