Those weak vocals were the point of the thing though. Davis styles himself an outsider to make a better song, to make a political point, saying - fuck - our political leaders are making it difficult for this town and its music to be what it should. Makes it all the more "poignant" when he realizes that he actually is an outsider in some ways, that simply living in the Treme doesn't change the fact that he's a white man in a racially charged area. Honestly, it reminds me of Kurosawa, where a character is played as satire and then that assumed role becomes actuality to surprising and often harrowing results.

On another note, David Simon & Crew have an incredible ear for dialogue. I mean, this is known fact, but it really struck me in last night's episode as the show moves from police station, to recording studio, to kitchen, to just two dudes walking around trying to find a trombone. Every scene is convincing in its honesty. No tricks.

I certainly understand the point of his character and I actually like Davis for the most part. It just seemed the vocals during that song were... exceptionally poor. Which might've been the point, but I'd think Davis would sing them with more energy. And the reactions afterward of all the musicians laughing like they just recorded something really good seemed off considering what he was singing. No big deal, though. I'll keep in mind the "outsider" thing when I rewatch it. I really liked the scene in the bar with the "say nigga again" guy precisely because of what you described. Reality about his standing all of a sudden hitting Davis a little too hard.

Agreed about the ear for dialogue. It's pretty stunning, actually.

Noticed awhile ago but never mentioned it. The Bunk's wife in this is played by the sassy, pissed-off woman from When The Levees Broke. It's cool that they cast her. She isn't a professional actress, as far as I can tell. She's doing good work here. Also nice seeing all the Wire alumni showing up.

I knew it!

She was awesome in the documentary.

Show continues to impress

Agreed. Antoine had some great moments. The potentially humiliating scene at the airport gig... the hospital visit with his old friend...

But I am getting tired of the street musician couple


and Steve Earle should be barred from acting, period.

Seriously? I liked Earle a lot as Waylon and I like him here. Has an authentic vibe that naturally carries over real well to his acting for Simon.

Last night's ep was strangely jaunty in tone to begin with - all kinds of good shit seemed to be happening too. That made the gutshots even harder to take. Albert seemingly making headway and then getting the

Spoiler/NSFW: click to show/hide

shit kicked out of him

was strongly reminiscent of The Wire, and a real tough thing to see.

I'd say that first season stands up against the best moments/seasons of The Wire without a problem. David Simon continues to amaze me in the way his shows are about survival, and the thriving nature of life in the midst of tragedy and darkness. There is so much sadness and cynicism on a show like this, but he still finds a way to make it all so hopeful and forward-thinking.

Had to take a break from this cause my girlfriend was out of the country for a month and wouldn't let me watch it without her. Finally finished the series tonight. Goddamn, what a great show.

Bump-- like the "Pacific" - this sat on the DVR forever, and we are finally catching up, having renewed our HBO. Great show-- loving it. Just watched the first 10 episodes, now I just have to find the next 10. It was a little hard to get into such a slow moving character drama at first, but it hooks you like cigarettes. SO glad I finally got into this. Jess likes it too, and she doesn't have enough patience to finish season 2 of the Wire.

Most of it should be on demand, no? They just aired the season finale. I didn't watch this year...not sure why. I was looking forward to life without Goodman.

just finished season 1 which only came out on DVD a month or so ago. i liked it but didn't love it. i thought the pilot was the highpoint of the season; after the pilot i was ready to declare that i would end up liking treme more than the wire, which i love; and then all the rest of the episodes didn't quite hit that high water mark. but still good. looking forward to watching s2 whenever that hits DVD.

$39 at amazon, really want this