I love it, but it gets a lot of harsh criticism. The Elvis episode was definitely one of the better ones.

sexton said:

I don't think the writing is up to much. I've watched about half the episodes, and I don't really care about any of these people. And as much as the "gritty realism of New York in the 70s, from Mister Taxi Driver himself!!" is one of the selling points, they get every reference wrong in some crucial way.

.

I do like the way Cannavale turns into a Tex Avery cartoon when he does blow... levitates two feet off the ground, his eyes pop out of his head, his tongue rolls out like a carpet and he makes a noise like a car horn. OOO-OOGA!

.

I remember the 70s, when Mick Jagger was constantly talking about how crappy Patti Smith and the Stranglers were. If anybody was going to get the 70s in New York "right" it was not this guy. He made fun of those people! But it does explain how the only "punk" act we really get to see in the show has his son in it. Didn't you know all punkers have English accents, even the ones from New York? It's just hilarious to me.

bobzilla77 said:

missfee said:

sexton said:

I love it, but it gets a lot of harsh criticism. The Elvis episode was definitely one of the better ones.

Yeah you are right about the Elvis episode...the ending alone makes it one of the better episodes...although I wasn't too crazy about the actor who impersonated Elvis. The show is getting harsh criticism? Well obviously HBO doesn't care...they have already renewed it for a 2nd season.

I would have liked to watch it but I don't have subscribe to HBO

missfee said:

sexton said:

I love it, but it gets a lot of harsh criticism. The Elvis episode was definitely one of the better ones.

Yeah you are right about the Elvis episode...the ending alone makes it one of the better episodes...although I wasn't too crazy about the actor who impersonated Elvis. The show is getting harsh criticism? Well obviously HBO doesn't care...they have already renewed it for a 2nd season.

The episode reviews and fan reactions have said mostly the opposite--that the professional Elvis impersonator who was cast nailed it and the twist ending was a real downer. I know it was renewed early on, but ratings haven't been so great either.

bobzilla77 said:

I don't think the writing is up to much. I've watched about half the episodes, and I don't really care about any of these people. And as much as the "gritty realism of New York in the 70s, from Mister Taxi Driver himself!!" is one of the selling points, they get every reference wrong in some crucial way.

.

I do like the way Cannavale turns into a Tex Avery cartoon when he does blow... levitates two feet off the ground, his eyes pop out of his head, his tongue rolls out like a carpet and he makes a noise like a car horn. OOO-OOGA!

.

I remember the 70s, when Mick Jagger was constantly talking about how crappy Patti Smith and the Stranglers were. If anybody was going to get the 70s in New York "right" it was not this guy. He made fun of those people! But it does explain how the only "punk" act we really get to see in the show has his son in it. Didn't you know all punkers have English accents, even the ones from New York? It's just hilarious to me.

This is the criticism I'm talking about. I'm not necessarily saying most of it isn't deserved. Maybe the fact that the show is a hot mess appeals to me. And the early 70s soundtrack too. Speaking of which, my college roommate, Ty Taylor is the singing voice for the Lester Grimes character.

I haven't checked it out yet because on Sundays I have Once Upon a Time, The Walking Dead, Shameless, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, Girls and The Last Man on Earth. The two hour premiere made it very difficult for me to get in on time. I do know it's supposed to be very expensive and ratings are terrible, I wouldn't be shocked if HBO took back their renewal. Every year on either networks or cable there is some show renewed but then it gets taken back.

I'm the DVR King and I saw HBO's trailer for Vinyl like 100 times...The tid-bits did not win me over..

________________________________________________________________________________

"Despite a decidedly soft start both critically and ratings wise, HBO believes in its 1970s music drama "Vinyl" - renewing the freshman series after just one episode."

I think if Cannavale is ever going to have a vehicle for his significant talent, this is it. He's been really good in it, as have Wilde and Romano. As a child of the 70's, I love the sets, the music, and the overall vibe. It has its flaws but it's a solid, DVR-worthy show. It's more than doing its job as a placeholder for Thrones.

bobzilla77 said:

I remember the 70s, when Mick Jagger was constantly talking about how crappy Patti Smith and the Stranglers were. If anybody was going to get the 70s in New York "right" it was not this guy.

I was skeptical of that too, but his takes on the various real-life musicians seem plausible. None of them seemed out of line to me; I loved the Alice Cooper arc. Plus, he's got Scorcese looking over his shoulder as exec-producer to ensure his takes don't get out of hand.

Yeah the Alice Cooper bit was probably my favorite so far.

I don't want to get too into micro-criticism of the period stuff. I have seen reviews that pick on things like, "the Palladium was on 14th Street not 18th Street YOU IDIOTS. How inauthentic!" The stuff that gets me is more like, when a hundred pixie girls run past his car on the way to see the Dolls, jumping on his hood and giggling.

Most of the performances are OK. I suppose I'll end up watching most of it, with a raised eyebrow. I liked the 70s. I just hope they can find a compelling story in there somewhere before it ends. It's going to get kind of old if all we do is hang out at the record company doing blow.

sexton said:

And the early 70s soundtrack too. Speaking of which, my college roommate, Ty Taylor is the singing voice for the Lester Grimes character.

Now that's cool! He does sound like the kind of guy who would have had hits in the 60s. Wait, was he also a finalist on that INXS show?

bobzilla77 said:

Now that's cool! He does sound like the kind of guy who would have had hits in the 60s. Wait, was he also a finalist on that INXS show?

Yes, that was him. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't find out about that until he told me way after the fact when we hung out for a few minutes one evening. He's doing okay in Vintage Trouble now.

I'm really digging this series. Some critics are trashing it and saying that it's inaccurate...well, it is FICTIONAL so I don't know what the big deal is....Bobby Cannavale is knocking it out of the park..I thought "Dice" was a cool, unexpected surprise and Olivia Wilde.... (drool)....The "King And I" episode was great, but I was trying to figure out what the number 18 reference was for...Oh yes, Ray Romano is kicking ass too..totally out of character for him in this series..glad to hear it's coming back for a second season...(and I also thought the Bowie episode was very cool..nice tribute).

SPYZFAN1 said:

I'm really digging this series. Some critics are trashing it and saying that it's inaccurate...well, it is FICTIONAL so I don't know what the big deal is....Bobby Cannavale is knocking it out of the park..I thought "Dice" was a cool, unexpected surprise and Olivia Wilde.... (drool)....The "King And I" episode was great, but I was trying to figure out what the number 18 reference was for...Oh yes, Ray Romano is kicking ass too..totally out of character for him in this series..glad to hear it's coming back for a second season...(and I also thought the Bowie episode was very cool..nice tribute).

I loved the Joey Ramone cameo in his pre-Ramones band and the implication that The Nasty Bits were the inspiration for the Ramones.

[Edited 3/30/16 9:28am]

Yeah I got a kick out of that too! That guy looked just like him.

sexton said:

bobzilla77 said:

Now that's cool! He does sound like the kind of guy who would have had hits in the 60s. Wait, was he also a finalist on that INXS show?

Yes, that was him. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't find out about that until he told me way after the fact when we hung out for a few minutes one evening. He's doing okay in Vintage Trouble now.

I had no idea! I absolutely remember him from that show as the best singer there by a mile. Vintage Trouble gets a lot of props, I need to check them out.

Its entertaining ..

On the "historical accuracy" front some of my older friends are really put out by the bit in the Elvis part where someobdy says "we're gonna get you back together with Scotty, DJ and Bill!" As good an idea as that would have been, Bill Black died in 1965.

I read that 1973-Bruce Springsteen made a very brief appearance in this week's episode. I missed it! I'll have to rewatch the episode later to catch him.

thetimefan said:

missfee said:

thetimefan said:

The Elvis episode was definitely the best one in the series so far. Uncle Charlie does the singing voice for Hannibal. I think this show has all the Scorsese trademarks which is a good thing. Some of the guest characters are a bit ropey in comparison to the real deals the Elvis didn't look much like the King but he had some of his mannerisms downpat though. I would have gone in a slightly different direction in terms of what story they are trying to tell as it's jumping around about a little in terms of continuity. But yea I like Vinyl and it's one of the shows that I'd recommend.

That was Uncle Charlie??? I had no idea??!!!

Yes, you can download the song from iTunes. Many big names provide vocals for the live performances on the show. The Strokes' Julian Casablancas sung the two Velvet Underground/Lou Reed tracks which appeared and I think Andrew W.K. did the Alice Cooper song.

I admit some of the historical references shown are getting to be a little hokey. Richie just happened to be sitting in the pre-CBGB venue and the owner Hilly Kristal just happened to ask his advice on the change of the venue's name? Despite that I liked the finale and look forward to season two next year.

Nile Rodgers worked on the disco track Kill the Lights.

You can find all the tracks on Atlantic Records youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/u...eos/videos

sexton said:

I admit some of the historical references shown are getting to be a little hokey. Richie just happened to be sitting in the pre-CBGB venue and the owner Hilly Kristal just happened to ask his advice on the change of the venue's name? Despite that I liked the finale and look forward to season two next year.

I hope they cut back on the historical cameos next season, but the best ones I saw were Alice Cooper, Bowie and Elvis.

It's got its drawbacks, but Vinyl is entertaining, and being a 70s child, I love the setting, and the transition into the new era. It's like a mashup of Mad Men, The Sopranos and Empire.