Released on Friday, February 13, 1970, today marks the 45th anniversary of Black Sabbath, the debut album by the legendary band of the same name. In many ways, Black Sabbath — released on a Friday the 13th like today — stands atop a short list of influential albums which nearly singlehandedly ushered in a sound, genre, influence, and style that continues to be studied and copied endlessly by musicians and bands globally.

In Black Sabbath‘s case, they fused together a musical amalgam of Sun Records style rock and roll, doomy blues, classical overtones, jazz complexities, and a drudging sound to create a concoction that had never been heard before it. While many of the most groundbreaking bands in musical history (even The Beatles) sort of wear their influences right on their sleeves (think about Led Zeppelin records), Black Sabbath had a sound, stance, and style that almost was like coming from a mold specifically created for them.

Better Call Saul
Episode 1.2 “Mijo”
Directed by Michelle MacLaren
Written Peter Gould
Starring Bob Odenkirk, Michael McKean, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Michael Mando, Patrick Fabian
AMC
Air Date: Monday, February 9, 2015, 10pm

So if you were blown away by the first episode of Better Caul Saul, then you won’t believe what’s in store for the second episode, 1.2 “Mijo,” which airs tonight on AMC, after a repeat of the first episode,

We now know that one Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), better known to the Breaking Bad universe as Saul Goodman, is actually working at the Cinnabon he tersely joked about with Walter White when the two shared what was essentially their final moments together in the penultimate Breaking Bad episode “Granite State.” But that’s all we know about that. We do know that he’s living in some secluded place in the Midwest and alone or so it seems, of course. The beauty of Better Call Saul, even this early on, is how much is unknown and how the wonderful pace takes it’s time to get us and Jimmy there. It’s an express train of exposition and narrative when needed, but chugs along the landscape so one can see clearly out the window.

The trailer for Straight Outta Compton, which looks to be a surefooted biopic of the incendiary and provocative Los Angeles hip hop group NWA, has been released, and like the legendary band, who are now almost steeped in mythos in the city in the contemporary age, the film also looks to be a hard punch to the senses.

Watch the red-band trailer here below, which includes an introduction by NWA’s Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, and check out the image gallery for the teaser poster and stills from the film.

Straight Outta Compton, which was also the name of NWA’s 1988 multi-platnium selling release, in which their life in essence imitated their art and vice versa, seems to be a no-apologetic look at the band, who were right in a hot bed nerve center that was Los Angeles in the late 1980s, with cities like Compton and Watts full of economic strife, crime, restlessness, and an un-abiding deep hatred for Police and Law Enforcement in general due to the lack of support for the aforementioned problems. It’s an attitude that still runs high today in the city, and in light of recent racial incidents and tragedies across the nation in the last few years, it’s also an attitude that runs high in the nation.

Better Call Saul
Episode 1.1 “Uno”
Directed by Vince Gilligan
Written Vince Gilligan & Peter Gould
Starring Bob Odenkirk, Michael McKean, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Michael Mando, Patrick Fabian
AMC
Air Date: Sunday, February 8, 2015, 10pm

So is there life after Breaking Bad? Not only is there life, but there’s even new trails to blaze. All the hype, all the billboards, Facebook posts, articles, interviews, everything leading up to Sunday night’s premiere of Better Call Saul, AMC’s Breaking Bad prequel spin-off, is 100 percent justified.

With fever pitch buzz and then some, the anticipation for Better Call Saul runs higher than Everest. About a year and a half after we first knew about the show as Breaking Bad was ending its spellbinding run, Better Call Saul finally comes to bat, and from at least what the Pilot and the second episode presents, it’s an out-of-the-park knockout.

UPDATED WITH VIDEO of the performance – see bottom of this post.

Jeff Lynne, who carved a niche and added some electronically classical elements to rock and roll with the hit after hit 1970s ensemble ELO (Electric Light Orchestra), is set to perform tonight at the 57th Grammy Awards, which will air on CBS. Lynne’s ELO will be performing with Ed Sheeran, the British born latest musical flavor of the month. Alongside the pair will be talent like the legendary piano jazz man Herbie Hancock, guitarist John Mayer, and Questlove from The Roots.

No word on what the ELO lineup will be performing at the Grammys, but with the inclusion of Lynne, it’s a safe bet to say that an ELO tune or two might be heard on the stage, especially when that band had reunited and played its first live show in almost 30 years this past autumn.