An animated "Arrested Development" reunion?

Just in case you think you had a bad Monday, perhaps we should start with a bit of perspective: In executing its previously announced plans to nuke New Line Cinema, the kind folks at Warner Bros. fired 450 New Line staffers in one day Monday. What a way to start the week ...

But, in much lighter and better news, "Arrested Development" creator Mitchell Hurwitz is teaming up with some old friends for his upcoming Fox animated series, which has been picked up for this fall.

Though the cast doesn't - yet, at least - include the sublimely funny David Cross, it will feature two Bluth brothers - Michael and Gob - and bumbling attorney Barry Zuckerman. Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Henry Winkler will join Cheri Oteri, Will Forte, Regina King, Nick Kroll, Tom Kenny and Maria Bamford in providing voices for "Sit Down, Shut Up."

And what is that? Well, as one fairly polite but anonymous reader has clarified for me, it's based on a live-action show from New Zealand - not Australia, as the trades still insist on saying. The story centers on staff members at a high school who are preoccupied with their own needs and agendas, which means the students come second.

Given Fox's track record and Hurwitz's luck, I give this no more than two seasons at best, but I'll definitely tune in for the whole run. And after that, we'll get that "Arrested Development" movie, right?

DVD pick of the week

Believe it or not, my pick is not "Juno," though I still have nothing but love for that flick. I've heard the complaints that it's all too smug and hip, but I've seen it twice already and it made me smile each time - and yes, I'll watch Ellen Page in just about anything - so that's all I really need to know.

But my pick instead is a real treasure trove from the Clash. Now, people can argue about who the "greatest rock band in the world" is, but the only thing I know for sure is it certainly isn't the Rolling Stones. Just to provoke a response, I often try and tell people it's the Drive-By Truckers, but if we really have to pin this silly label on anyone, I'll just say this: For the way-too-brief time that they reigned, the Clash were just easily the coolest band on the planet.

And, if you were to give me a time machine chance to go anywhere in the world, anytime, I have to say - as shallow as this might be - I'd definitely pick the day in 1982 when the Who and the Clash took on Shea Stadium. Since I've yet to find such technology for such silly use, I guess this week's DVD release, "The Clash Live: Revolution Rock," will have to do for now.

Here's a track listing for the flick, directed by longtime Clash collaborator Don Letts:

1. Complete Control
2. I Fought The Law (London Lyceum '79)
3. Police & Thieves (Munich '77)
4. What's My Name (Manchester Elizabethan Suite '77)
5. Capitol Radio One (Manchester Elizabethan Suite '77)
6. White Riot
7. I'm So Bored With The U.S.A (Manchester Apollo '78)
8. London's Burning (London Victoria Park '78)
9. 1977
10. (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais (Glasgow Apollo '78)
11. Tommy Gun
12. Safe European Home (London Music Machine '78)
13. London Calling (Bonds International Casino '81)
14. Clampdown (Lewisham Odeon '80)
15. The Guns Of Brixton (Fridays '80)
16. Train In Vain (Lewisham Odeon '80)
17. This Is Radio Clash (Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder '81)
18. The Magnificent Seven (Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder '81)
19. Brand New Cadillac (Tokyo Sun Plaza Hall '82)
20. Should I Stay Or Should I Go (Shea Stadium '82)
21. Know Your Rights (US Festival '83)
22. Career Opportunities (Shea Stadium '82)

Now that's a friggin set list!

"Iron Man" will kick serious ass

Based only on the few clips I've seen and, much more so, my simple desire for Jon Favreau to really kick summer off with a winner, I'm thoroughly convinced that the above sentence will be true. And, for those of you too old to tune in to Nickelodeon, here is a clip shown on the channel over the weekend which at least proves that Robert Downey Jr. will be very funny in it. Peace out.

Hearing the ghost of Joe Strummer?

"I'd like you to write punk rock warlord, with warlord being one word."

From this rather odd intro on, listening to the soundtrack to Julien Temple's new Joe Strummer documentary, "The Future Is Unwritten," is a truly disconcerting experience.

Not unentertaining in the least mind you, just a little eerie. In putting this together, Temple could have taken any number of easy routes, but any one who has followed his music video work or of course seen "The Filth and the Fury" knows there was little chance of that happening.

Rather than simply compiling a best of the Clash/Joe Strummer/the Mescaleros, Temple scoured the tapes from Strummer's stint as a BBC DJ from 1999-2002 and put together some of Joe's favorite tracks, interspersed with voice snippets from the show itself (and, of course, some Clash and Mescaleros stuff too.)

The result is a fascinating listen, almost like listening to a ghost DJ on your radio. Although I never doubted it from listening to his own tunes, you get a real sense that Joe Strummer genuinely just loved music - and people - of all kinds. I won't spoil your listening adventure with a full track listing, but among the early standouts are the Elvis Presley oddity "Crawfish" and a rare tune from folkie Tim Hardin, "Black Sheep Boy."

From there, you take the same journey Joe did, discovering music from around the world. Hearing Baaba Maal singing along to the great guitar sounds of Ernest Ranglin on "Minuet" is just a perfect synergy of sound, and Andres Landeros' "Martha Cecilia" is also a real treat.

By the end, the secret comes out: Though he tried to come off as a tough guy, a "punk rock warlord," Joe Strummer was at heart just a big softie who wanted us all, as cheesy as it sounds, to love each other a little more, and who can argue with that? The set closes with Nina Simone's jazzy take on "To Love Somebody" and then a plea for world unity from the Mescaleros, "Willesden to Cricklewood."

With 25 song and voice tracks, there's a lot more to discover here, so I won't spoil it for you. You can buy the soundtrack now and, of course, if you happen to live in a more cosmopolitan corner of the world than I do, go see this when it finally gets some kind of U.S. release in November. Early word is that the movie just rocks, as any tribute to Joe Strummer certainly should.

Sounds of "The Darjeeling Limited"

Music also, of course, plays a big part in all the films of Wes Anderson. I managed to get my hands on a CD of those Portugeuse David Bowie songs by Seu Jorge from "The Life Aquatic," and I just can't get them out of my head. And as much as I love "Ooh La La" by the Faces, I now can't hear it without a vision of Max Fischer cuing the DJ so he can finally get to dance with Ms. Cross popping into my brain.

For his new flick, "The Darjeeling Limited," Anderson ventures out for the first time without longtime music collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh. And as you can see from this track listing, he leans heavily on the music of Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, and throws in a few Kinks tunes for good measure (something I've never complained about.)

Giving credit where it's due, I discovered this track listing at the highly addictive blog The Playlist. Be warned in advance: If you go there, you may easily spend the next hour perusing its offerings. In the meantime, have a truly great weekend. Peace out.

"The Darjeeling Limited" Tracklist
Music from the film “Jalsaghar” - Ustad Vilayat Khan
“This Time Tomorrow” - The Kinks
Music from the film “Teen Kanya” - Satyajit Ray
Music from the film “The Householder” -Jyotirindra Moitra
Music from the film “Pather Panchali” - Pendit Ravi Shankar
Music from the film “Aparajito” - Pandit Ravi Shankar
Music from the film “Devi” -Ali Akbar Khan
Music from the film “Apur Sansar” - Pandit Ravi Shankar
Music from the film “Joi Baba Felunath” - Satyajit Ray
Music from the film “Charulata” - Satyajit Ray
Music from the film “Bombay Talkie” - Shankar Jaikishan
Music from the film “Shakespeare Wallah” - Satyajit Ray
Music from the film “Baksa Badal” - Satyajit Ray
Music from the film “Kanchenjungha” -Satyajit Ray
“Debussy: 3. Clair de Lune” - Written by Claude De Bussy (performed by Alexis Weissenberg)
“Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)” - Peter Sarstedt
“Strangers”- The Kinks
“Typewriter Tip Tip Tip” - Shankar Jaikishan
“Symphony No. 7 in A, OP. 92″ Written by Ludwig Van Beethoven (performed by Fritz Reiner)
“Symphony No. & in A OP. 92. Il Allegretto” Written by Ludwig Van Beethoven (performed by Otto Klemperer / Philharmonia Orchestra
“Champs Elysees (aka Waterloo Road)” - Joe Dassin
“Play with Fire”- The Rolling Stones
“Powerman"- The Kinks
Music from the film “Guru” - Ustad Vilayat Khan